The Vampire Diaries - Season Seven
by MrInigo1995
Summary: This is my version of Season 7. Full summary inside. I want to continue the series where it left off in S6. I have an own wikia dedicated to my fanfiction.
1. Summary

_**THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – SEASON SEVEN**_

Season Six of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES began with our heroes mourning the devastating loss of Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Bonnie (Kat Graham), who turned out to be trapped in a 1994 prison world by a sociopathic magic-siphon named Kai Parker (guest star Chris Wood). Unable to cope with the loss of her love, Elena (Nina Dobrev) compelled away all of her memories of loving Damon, which meant that when he finally returned to Mystic Falls, he had to win her over again. Jeremy made a decision and went on a secret vampire hunting mission. Meanwhile, Caroline (Candice Accola) had to come to terms with her feelings for Stefan (Paul Wesley) in light of her mother's heartbreaking battle with cancer. That battle ultimately proved fatal, sending both Caroline and Stefan down a dangerous path as humanity-free vampires. Bonnie returned from the prison world with a surprise for Damon, the cure for vampirism, which he ultimately chose to give to Elena. Damon and Stefan came face-to-face with their mother Lily (guest star Annie Wersching), who they long since believed to be dead. As the season built to a wedding between Alaric (Matt Davis) and Jo (guest star Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), Damon used the ceremony to profess his dedication to Elena, but not without a catastrophic event that left lives hanging in the balance.

In the wake of Elena Gilbert's goodbye, in Season Seven, some characters will recover while others falter. This final season will bring the group both closer and further apart as they discover what they want in life. Damon has trouble dealing with Elena's current situation with Stefan trying to keep him sane and trying to see how his relationship with Caroline will now develop. Matt will take a surprising journey while Bonnie will face some personal changes. While dealing with their destiny, they must deal with Lily and the Heretics, and a charismatic yet villainous leader with a dangerous and surprising goal. As our heroes try to stop their plans from happening, they will make startling revelations, find out long-kept secrets, and discover there's more to this world than just immortality. But when danger lurks around every corner, how much is immortality actually worth? Can you ever stop being a part of the supernatural community?

 _Slogan: "Take One Last Bite."_

* * *

 **Author's Note: I will begin to publish the chapters/episodes in October 2015. If you want to ask something, just ask.**

 **I have an own wikia dedicated to my fanfiction. It's called MrInigo1995 Fanfiction wikia.**


	2. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

Season 7 Episode 1: Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

 **For information about which actor/actress plays a character, look for the episode on my MrInigo1995 Fanfiction wikia.**

* * *

 _Previously on 'The Vampire Diaries': Elena took the Cure and Damon wanted to take it with her. As Alaric and Jo were about to embark on a journey of marriage, Kai made a bloody appearance which killed all his family members. Liv encouraged Tyler to kill her so he could trigger the werewolf gene and heal. Elena was magically linked to Bonnie by Kai. And there's no witchy loophole. Kai tried to make Damon choose between Bonnie and Elena. The choice did not end well for Kai. Everyone said their goodbyes to Elena and she was safely sealed in the Salvatore crypt by Bonnie. Stefan professed his love to Caroline and declared that he will wait for her. And, last but not least, Lily reunited with her vampire family, the Heretics._

'Would you like another drink?' the black-haired bartender said with a heavy French accent. He smiled slightly at the beautiful woman sitting at the bar in front of him. What were his chances of looking at such an angelic face at his work place? Yes, there were other people in the bar who wanted their drinks as well. No, they were not as lovely as her.

'Sure', the woman said. She was just twenty years old. Long dark brown hair, friendly face, girl-next-door appearance… Yes, she's got the pretty part down.

As the bartender made her another drink, she returned a smile. After all, he wasn't a bad looking guy either. If this went well, they might both get lucky. At the same time, she felt an eerie presence in the room. Like someone, or _something_ , was watching her. The thought slipped away when her drink was ready set in front of her. Or was it because the bartender winked seductively at her? She couldn't distinguish what the object of her forgetfulness was.

The evening went on and the bartender got sexier with each drink. The music enchanted her a bit. Which only made the night better. She concluded that the song playing from the speakers was 'Chandelier', but by the original artist. It sounded familiar. Wasn't this Angus and Julia Stone? Well, it didn't matter anyway. Not when the barkeeper was flexing his muscles to shake a drink for another customer. When it was time to close the bar, she was the only one left. She went outside and waited for him. Thank God that didn't take long. He smirked when he saw her standing on the other side of the street. Her smile got wider as he crossed it.

'Hi, I'm Mikky', he introduced himself.

She tried to hold her laughter, but she couldn't. 'As in Mickey Mouse?' she snorted.

'No, but I was counting on you to say it. It's like Mikky Ekko, the singer.'

'Oh! I know him! He's good', she replied, although the word 'good' faded out because of the amount of drinks she had. 'Let's go somewhere quieter.' She stumbled towards the guy again. She tripped – apparently over her own feet – and was about to hit the ground hard. However, the kind bartender could catch her before she had some bruised memories of the night for the next day.

'I think I should bring you home. You're very drunk.' The bartender wasn't about to use this drunk – scratch that, VERY drunk – girl to get lucky. He liked some sexual activity as much as the next college guy, but that would be wrong. 'Where do you live?'

'In the U.S.A.', she said, though she sung the last part of her sentence like the Miley Cyrus-song.

'I figured. Maybe I should have said "where is your hotel?"', was his reply.

She giggled and said: 'Somewhere around here. I think it was that way.' She pointed at the end of the street, turned around and tilted her head. 'No, that way.' Again a giggle. 'I'm Debbie, by the way. Ever noticed how many expressions we have with "way"?'

'Nice to meet you', Mikky said, but Debbie was already getting on his nerves. 'I'll bring you to your hotel. Or do you want me to call a cab?'

'No, just…', a hick-up rose from Debbie's throat, 'take me to my hotel.'

'Okay,' Mikky said impatiently. 'I'll go get one for you. Wait here.'

Mikky ran out of the street to call for a cab as soon as he could. A cab was getting closer and he was actually glad to be soon released off this drunken girl burden.

'Debbie!' He yelled as he turned his head to look at her. 'There's a cab comin…' He couldn't finish his sentence though. His words were lost when he saw that the spot where Debbie stood – not even two minutes ago – was now empty. No trace of Debbie to be found.

'Are you going to take a ride or not, kid?' the cabdriver said.

Mikky turned his face to the taxi again and said with an odd look: 'I guess not.'

The cabdriver blew air through his teeth and said: 'Then why the hell did you call for a cab? For heaven's sake, you've been wasting my time.' And as he put his foot on the gas, he practically raced away.

Mikky stared after the cab, as it took a sharp turn to the right. He turned back around and walked out into the street again. It felt like the blackness from the streets was gathering in front of him. Everything was so dark all of a sudden.

'Look at me', he said to himself. 'I'm scaring myself. She probably walked away.' But he still wasn't sure. Especially because Debbie had been over-the-top drunk so it would have been a challenge to walk away that fast. Mikky shrugged his shoulders and decided to leave the scene.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise. Like a bug that gets squished…

As he turned around, he slowly got to see Debbie again. Laying on the ground. Blood spreading. He yelled. It looked like Debbie fell to her death. So he scarily looked up. He saw a guy standing there, with a smug face. His dark hair, darkening his gaze on his next prey.

Mikky started to run as fast as he could. Maybe I can run my way out of this nightmare, he started thinking to himself. This was not his only thought though. This jolt of adrenaline made long memories resurface and faces of family members appear in his mind. He wanted to see those faces again. While he was still alive himself.

That was his final thought just as he was picked up and a scream was heard around the darkened street.

 _INSERT SONG: Something To Die For – The Sounds_

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

Stefan was driving his car towards his next destination while a song was blaring through the speakers. This song by The Sounds wasn't bad, but still not as great as his all-time favorite musical artist Bon Jovi. This red 1963 356B Karmann Coupe had seen the roads of the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Belgium. Now it was making its way through the Netherlands. The destination was the country's capital: Amsterdam. With Stefan Salvatore behind the wheel.

Stefan had left Mystic Falls to find Damon who had disappeared ever since… He had to swallow his sadness and then turned the music off. The thought of Elena just laying there in a coffin was unbearable. The girl-next-door who was once his girl. His girlfriend until she fell in love with his brother. The brother he was now trying to find.

He had searched for clues to find his older brother. Clues, such as suspicious killings and found bodies that were drained of blood. His quest had led him to Prague, Munich and Paris first. Two young adults were found dead in the same street in the latter city. It seemed like the girl had committed suicide. But as Stefan compelled the detectives and the medical examiner to tell the truth, the truth was revealed. The girl was probably already dead when she hit the ground. Her body was already drained. And the guy was another gruesome story. His head was almost torn off.

Stefan had began to worry about the possibility that his brother had gone down the ripper-road. Just as Stefan himself had a few years back with Klaus. And a few decades before that. After all, it seemed to run in the family.

Thinking of his family made him think of his mother, Lillian, who had not been seen since she had found family. Enzo had not been sighted either. Stefan's friends in Mystic Falls were left wondering where they all went. The Heretics had not been seen since then and that was eight weeks ago.

At least, that is what he told Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler and the others. Secretly he had made an appointment with his mother three days after the wedding from Heretic-hell.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _It was daylight in the woods of Mystic Falls. Sun beams were guiding the forest animals._

' _I heard you wanted to meet me', Lily said. She walked over to Stefan. He had asked to meet in the woods._

 _Stefan looked into his mother's eyes and said: 'Hello, mother. How have you been?'_

 _Lily gleefully said: 'I'm great, Stefan. My family has returned to me.'_

 _Surprise was clearly visible on Stefan's face. 'The Heretics are here? In our world?' His lips turned into a fine line of disapproval. Those vampiric Siphoners were somewhere around Mystic Falls. Stefan was sure drama was about to unfold in his beloved Virginian hometown. But something dawned on him. A big sigh escaped Stefan's mouth. 'You do know that we are you're actual family, right? Your magical sires are just that: sires.'_

' _Stefan, we have had this conversation before. They were the ones who have opened their arms to my very existence. They make me feel needed. That's why I turned them. I wanted to connect them to me the only way I knew how.' Lily smiled all the way through. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. 'Sad to hear about your brother's girlfriend. Not a shame to see her go though. She looked to be the final nail in my coffin.'_

' _That', Stefan started sincere, 'is a very fragile subject, mother. After all, it was you and your hybrid band of witches that gave Kai the idea to turn himself into a hybrid too.'_

' _Look, all I can say is that my friends and I want no trouble with you. So if you leave us alone, we leave you alone. We just want to live happily, here, in Mystic Falls. Practically a haven of supernatural occurrences so I've heard.' Lily's eyes were demanding that Stefan agreed with it._

 _Stefan thought of his mother. How he remembered her and how she was now. The loving mother who died of consumption versus the Heretic-leader. Eventually, Stefan just said: 'Okay.'_

' _Fantastic, Stefan. I knew I could count on you. Glad that we can live peacefully next to each other. I guess we are done here', Lily concluded. She turned around and left Stefan standing alone in the woods._

 _END FLASHBACK_

He wanted to tell the others about this, but he had found out that his brother had gone missing the moment Stefan left him alone with his sorrow. So he immediately decided to go looking for him. He had only left a note for Caroline, explaining the entire situation. But he didn't write a word about the deal with his mother. That he would keep to himself.

He knew that his mother was practically evil and he believed his brother would kill him if he ever found out he had asked to meet the woman responsible for the Heretics. So telling had not been an option.

'Finally', Stefan sighed as he drove into the city of Amsterdam, ready to find his brother. And more importantly, bring him back home.

* * *

The next day, Matt stood in front of the Mystic Falls Police Station. He was going to finish his police training within two weeks and he was going to apply for a job now. Right here, in Mystic Falls. The new Sheriff had been picked and now a Deputy was needed.

And he wanted to become that Deputy so bad. This was going to be his life now. And just like that, his last conversation with Elena, his ex-girlfriend and very good friend, flooded through his mind.

' _That's my hope for you, Matt_ ', Elena had said. ' _In our crazy lives together, you have stayed the same: human, loyal, and good. My hope is that you spend the rest of your life fighting for people like you._ '

If he hadn't already made the decision to become an officer of the law, this would've been the final straw. The life of his childhood friend, lover to ex-lover even, had been put on hold by a magical spell cast by a vampire-witch hybrid. This magical spell connected her life with the life of another friend, Bonnie Bennett. A witch who seemed to have found a new reassurance.

Matt drew breath and finally took a step on the stairs. He opened the door and entered the police building, more anxious than he had ever been before.

* * *

'I have to do something, Caroline', Bonnie insisted. 'I at least have to find him.'

Early in the afternoon, Bonnie and Caroline were at the Mystic Falls Cemetery, walking towards the Salvatore family crypt. Since Elena got cursed with a stasis spell, the two of them had visited her at least three times a week. Not much had changed since then. Except for Bonnie's hair. Her short hair had grown a little longer, bright streaks were added and it was curly again. And many friends gradually left town. First Damon had left them behind, and then Stefan went looking for him. Tyler had left with a simple explanation of what Elena had told him in his vision and everyone understood. Even Matt, who had been dispirited by the departure of yet another friend. Last but not least Alaric, who wanted to join Stefan.

Caroline shook her head immediately. 'No!'

'Why not, for crying out loud?' Bonnie demanded.

'Because you have apparently forgotten about the fact that you have a serious case of PTMD', Caroline responded.

'PTMD?' Bonnie asked.

'Post-traumatic magic disorder, keep up!' Caroline explained.

'Are you serious with that?' Bonnie knew Caroline so of course this was a rhetorical question.

'Yes, Bonnie, I am. You have suffered from this specific type of disorder ever since Kai "outmagiced" you.'

Bonnie remembered that part very well. She remembered how confident enough she was feeling to take that menacing Malachai down. His evil laughter – he really was an archetypical villain, wasn't he? – echoed between her ears. She hadn't thought of the venom of a werewolf as magic. It had been her fault that Elena had been cursed. It had been her obliviousness that didn't register Kai's werewolf bite as magic for Kai to siphon on. Kai had used it to lift Bonnie telekinetically and throw her across the room. It had felt like her body broke when she hit the wall. Breathing was hard. And she definitely felt more vulnerable when Kai challenged Damon to choose between her and Elena. At that moment, Bonnie thought it was going to be Elena who survived this day. It was always Elena for Damon. It would always be Elena for him.

As he had left her and Kai there almost immediately, it left Kai totally distraught over the fact that Damon didn't kill Bonnie. That he didn't feel challenged at all. And that was his probably his final thought as his head was severed from his body with just one smooth smack of Damon's hand.

At that moment, she had felt grateful. Grateful for these friends, some of them even unexpected and unlikeable friends at times, she had gained over the years. Now, she thought back to the vision she and Caroline shared with Elena when they had held her hand. Caroline had left Bonnie and Elena together to say their goodbyes. They were not going to see each other again after all. If Bonnie died, Elena would wake up. As long as Bonnie didn't die, Elena would stay in this Sleeping Beauty-like slumber.

' _Bonnie Bennett, you have spent your entire life making sacrifices for me. Now it's my turn to do it for you._ ' Elena's voice croaked from the tears. They were both happy and sad tears. Happiness had filled Elena, because Bonnie would get a chance to live. Elena had known that her very existence endangered everyone around her. She had been sick of it. Sadness was also part of Elena's words. Awakening from a somewhat sixty year slumber would mean that Bonnie, one of her best friends, had died. Of course Elena felt sad.

Those were the final words from Elena and they had become very important to Bonnie. She had been protecting people for her entire life. She strived for the wellbeing of others, especially her fellow Mystic Falls residents. But now her friends were practically scattered around the world. And now was the time to bring everyone together again. Especially now that she felt an eerie presence in Mystic Falls.

She had felt it ever since Jo's and Alarics failed attempt to marry each other. Yet that was all she magically felt.

Her magic had been on the fence. Almost as if her body didn't want to do magic anymore. And why wouldn't her body refuse? She had been hurt so many times through the use of magic. Either it was during practicing magic or with the consequences that followed. She could count the times she did magic this past summer on one hand. And this would be the fifth time.

'Caroline, I'm going to do this. I need to make contact with them.'

'But you have done this spell like once when Elena was in transition, Bonnie. How do you know you can do this hard spell when that was ages ago?' Caroline asked.

'Caroline! I need to do this!' Bonnie said distinctly.

The two of them reached the crypt.

'Okay then', Caroline sighed.

Bonnie mumbled a few not-quite-Latin words and a sort of barrier around the crypt seemed to disappear. Caroline had seen it happen a few times over the summer. They didn't always go into the crypt when they visited Elena. They would just sit there on the ground and talk about Elena. Finally, they entered the resting place of Elena Gilbert. Bonnie opened her bag and put a few candles around Elena's coffin. Caroline could hear Elena breathe in and out while Bonnie was busy setting the whole ritual out. When she was done, Bonnie fixated her eyes on the candles and tried to make them burn. It took a while but they began to burn after about twenty seconds. This was the sixth time that she had done magic since the wedding aftermath. And this had been the second time in one day. Our beloved witch already felt a little tired from it. But she was not going to say that to Caroline, our beloved vampiric control freak.

Bonnie opened her Grams' grimoire and quickly began the spell. She concentrated so hard on the words and the vibration around her. This was also the right place. She needed to make contact with Damon so who other than the love of his life to put in the middle? Yet, the spell didn't work.

Caroline worriedly stared at Bonnie and her actions. Caroline's heart, body and soul were not agreeing with this dangerous plan. Yes, Bonnie was a powerful witch, but PTSD and PTMD were not to be taken lightly. Bonnie had changed though. She had become more self-dependent and assertive. And Caroline felt like it would do her good. But she also kept thinking of Elena all the while. Especially what the brunette had said to her.

' _Take care of everyone while I'm gone, okay?'_ Elena had asked.

' _I will. I promise'_ , was Caroline's answer.

And Caroline had taken this duty literally on her. She hadn't managed to make the others stay though, but she could help Bonnie by contacting them. So that's practically the same, right? Helping Bonnie was actually killing two birds with one stone.

'Do you need help?' Caroline asked. 'Because I can help, you know. You just have to say what I need to do.'

Bonnie's concentration broke. With a look of "do-not-do-that-again" on her face, Bonnie gazed at Caroline.

'Okay, shutting up is the message. Got it.'

* * *

'Got it, Donovan?'

'Yes, sir. I'll start working on it immediately', Matt said.

His new boss walked off into his office. The old sheriff of Mystic Falls had been replaced with a man named Evert Crane. Hopefully this Crane guy would not get the same suspense like Ichabod Crane. Although in the long story of "The Legend of Mystic Falls" it is hard not to have a suspense-filled life. Even a ghost like the Headless Horseman would not be weird in his extraordinary hometown.

He was the deputy now. He was going to keep the suspense in Mystic Falls on a low point. That's why he actually loved the anti-magic spell. After all the Travelers had done, that was the one good thing they had brought with them. Mystic Falls had been safe. Well, safer.

'Hey, deputy Donovan. Is it okay if I call you "Double D"?'

Matt turned around and looked at the person who had asked that question.

'William Duncan?' Matt was astonished.

Matt had known William from high school. This guy had been in the same year as him. He graduated the same time as him. William looked like a stud, Matt knew that. Both of them were sometimes called the two hottest guys in Mystic Falls. Until Stefan and Damon came around, that is. Then suddenly every girl and woman turned their heads to the Salvatore brothers. Matt had been jealous at first, not because of the female attention, but Elena was the only girl he cared for at that time (who had eyes for a Salvatore brother). But as he saw that Stefan made Elena happy, all that jealousy disappeared. William didn't support him through that time though. He had been busy with other stuff like partying and enjoying life. Unlike Matt who had been thrown into the supernatural layer of the world.

And now he had to work with someone who probably still didn't know about vampires, werewolves, witches and hybrids.

'How are you here, in the police station?' Matt asked.

'I'm part of the Mystic Falls police corps, duh!' William replied. 'I'm so excited I can work with my childhood bro again. You know, it's weird. I actually thought about you the other day and I thought to myself: what happened to Matt Donovan?'

'What do you mean "what happened to me"? You were the one who fled town the minute you graduated', Matt stated. It was a fact that William literally left everything behind and went to a college somewhere far from the supernatural epicenter that Mystic Falls had become.

William sighed: 'I did, didn't I?' He paused for a bit to breathe in and out. 'Look, Matt', William started. He pulled Matt towards a corner of the hall and started to whisper. 'I know about the town's history. It's filled with stuff that you come across in your nightmares, in ghost stories, or horror fiction novels like "Interview with the Vampire".'

Matt was astonished for the second time that day. He couldn't say a word.

'And I know you know about it too, Matt', William continued. 'You have been protecting this town with your friends, haven't you?'

Matt didn't know what to say. Should he scoff at these facts? Should he explain everything to one of his childhood friends? Or just call him crazy and let it be?

* * *

Stefan walked around the streets of Amsterdam. He had been walking around for a day now. He didn't even go to sleep last night. He had seen the most streets of the Dutch capitol. He had seen the lovely canals of Amsterdam, the Royal Palace at Dam Square, the Rijksmuseum,… Even the house where Anne Frank had lived during the Second World War. The one place where he hadn't searched for his brother, was the red-light district. But he doubted that his brother would be there.

After all, he just lost his girlfriend for sixty years. The waiting part had to be hard. Stefan had a difficult time accepting Elena's faith too. But since they had been ex-lovers for a few years now, it must be hard on Damon, having to wait for you love for about _sixty_ years. He still couldn't believe it.

He wondered what Damons last conversation with Elena had been. There hadn't been a chance to ask his brother this very question because of his sudden disappearance. How had Damon spent those final moments with Elena until she woke up again?

Stefan remembered his final thoughts to date with Elena.

' _Thank you for bumping into me that day in the hallway. I thought I would never be happy again, and then…'_ Elena's voice filled Stefans head. _'And then I met you. You changed everything for me. You… You quite literally saved my life.'_

Stefan thought back to that moment. That moment actually did change her life forever. But she changed his life too. In fact, they saved each other from a certain death, psychological or otherwise. Yet, that moment also endangered her life from then on. But Elena had already told him once that she didn't blame him. She had said that it was her own fault. She was the latest doppelgänger. Being the doppelgänger meant that she jeopardised the lives of every friend, relative or acquaintance she had.

Elena's words went on: _'I love you so much, which is why I can't wait to find out what new life you… you've chosen for yourself in sixty or seventy years when I see you again.'_

This made him think of his life. He had envisioned it when he confessed his love to Caroline. He would wait for her to accept his love. She was in love with him, but she wanted to come to terms with her mother's death and the consequences of the subsequent emotion switch. Stefan felt responsible for her flipping her humanity switch. After all, she had dropped hints of loving him while he didn't seem to care. In fact, he had stayed away from her for a whole summer.

That had all been part of the plan to leave Mystic Falls behind him. Yet, it didn't work. His feelings for Caroline had grown. The friendship he felt before was replaced with love for the quirky blonde vampire.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Deciding he should text Caroline again like he had done the past weeks. He informed her of every little hope of finding Damon. Like he was supposed to do last year, but he had given up back then.

The text message was sent and he smiled a little. Somehow he wished he was back in Mystic Falls again. And on that note, he continued his search for Damon.

* * *

Caroline was pacing around the crypt. She was getting frustrated and felt uneasy.

'Bonnie, you have tried this astral projection spell six times now', she said. 'It doesn't work.'

Bonnie looked angrily at Caroline for breaking her concentration again. But Bonnie knew that something else was roaming around in Caroline's head. She knew Caroline so well that she also wondered if she should ask or not. And finally she decided what to do.

'Caroline, what's the matter?' Bonnie asked. She squinted her eyes towards Caroline. 'I know something is going on.'

Caroline sighed. Frustration was indeed the most overwhelming emotion for Caroline at the moment.

'Okay, I'm going to tell you. And I'm going to apologize for not telling you these past few weeks.'

Bonnie didn't know what she would say next. Since when did Caroline not share everything with her? Caroline was the kind of person who shared everything. Not on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram like most people nowadays, but with her real-life friends.

'Stefan came to me, Bonnie. After we said goodbye to Elena, he came to my house.' Caroline was serious, but her voice broke to form a laughter that was caused by the following memory. 'He had made a list of all the ways that loving me has changed his life.' She got serious again. 'And he said he would wait for me. He would wait until I was healed from my… you know…'

'Your take on how horrible life has been to us?' Bonnie stated. She understood Caroline. She was surprised by Stefan's feelings, but not as surprised as she should be. There had always been a strong connection between those two.

'Yeah', Caroline said silently. 'And I don't know how to react to this.' Caroline showed a text message on her phone to Bonnie. It was a text message from Stefan, dated from a few hours ago.

'So he sent that text to you? That can help to locate Damon', Bonnie said enthusiastically.

'I think you're missing the basic point here', Caroline said with frowned eyes as her phone was taken from her. She looked at her friend as she laid the phone in the candle circle in front of her. 'I don't know what to respond, Bonnie. My whole life has been turned upside down by my mother's battle with cancer. I don't have time for him now. I need to think about everything I want in life.'

'Than that's what you need to figure out, Caroline', Bonnie said. 'No one can do that for you. You need to decide what you want from and in life.'

'I know, and that's what I told him.' Caroline looked down at her feet. 'But I'm still dealing with it. I loved my mom so much. Sure, we had our ups and downs, but I loved her and she loved me. I just never imagined a life without her before. And now it all happened so fast. I just…'

Caroline broke down again. She had cried many times over the summer: she had cried for her mom, she had cried for her actions, she had cried for every big or little thing she had done. But never in front of anyone. She held it all in until she came home.

Bonnie stood up and walked over to Caroline. She wrapped her arms around her friend and started to give solace to her. They stood there for a few minutes until Caroline stopped crying.

'I'm sorry', Caroline apologized. 'I have been an emotional wreck, but I'm getting back to normal. Just wait and see.' She laughed at her own comment.

'It's okay, Caroline', Bonnie said compassionately. 'I understand.' Bonnie stopped hugging her friend, but placed her hands on both shoulders. 'You're going to be okay again. I know you will.'

Caroline wiped her tears away. She sniveled.

'Of course I will.' She looked at Bonnie. 'Now, let's complete this spell.'

Bonnie smiled sympathetically at Caroline. 'Yes, let's do that.'

Bonnie sat down again. She closed her eyes. She began to mumble the words for the spell for the seventh time. She laid her hands on the phone with the text message showing on the screen. Suddenly, she felt a surge going through her body. It exploded in her hands and made its way to her brain through her veins. A white light appeared behind her eyelids.

* * *

'Yes, I have', Matt confessed. 'But you have to keep it a secret. I need to protect the town, but once everyone knows… There's no guarantee that the citizens will go mental about it.'

'I agree', William said. 'That's why I'm not telling anyone. I just wanted to tell you.'

Matt was okay with this, but there was still one question on his mind.

'How do you know these things?'

William started walking towards the door. Matt followed him. He had a feeling William wanted him to follow. When the two of them were outside standing next to a police car, they looked around to check if no one else could overhear them.

William started ransacking through his backpack and dug out what seemed to look like a journal.

'My mom always wrote in her journal. She lived near the town's square. She saw most things happen', William said. 'Every. Little. Detail. And then she suddenly stopped writing. The day all those people died at the town's square.'

He was talking about the Purification spell that the Travelers enacted in May 2012. The spell, which had kept the town safe for a few months. The Magic Purification spell was essentially reversed. Its negative side effects on the supernatural community of the town were negated.

'Your mother was one of them', Matt said. It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

After a long silence, William finally said: 'Yes.'

'Oh God! I can't even imagine how that must have felt like.'

Matt tried to comfort William with those words. But he knew that words couldn't help. When Vicki died, his friends stood by him. They supported him and knew that he was having a hard time, but knowing how it must feel is different from going through it. Elena had been through a terrible loss just a few months prior back then and even she withheld information about his sister's faith. Anyway, the graduated quarterback knew that words would not matter to William.

'I returned to my hometown a few months after her service', William exchanged confidentially. 'I think I saw you jog around the town a few times, but I always had errands to run so I didn't attempt to contact you.' William started to lean against the police car behind him. 'I was wallowing in my sadness for weeks. I had no clue what to do with my life. I dropped out of college and just hung around home. And then I found her journal.'

Matt frowned. He had no clue about what William was going to say next. And he wanted to know desperately so he could figure out what to talk to him about. Not everything was acceptable for conversation.

'I read all about strange happenings, killings, disappearances… Even unexplained reappearances. I went to Sheriff Forbes. She didn't want to explain anything to me. But she did give me a box full of documents. Everything that has happened in this town has been documented. And that's how I found out about the Founder's Council which has turned into the Town's Council. That drove me deeper into a depression; knowing that my mom got killed by some mysterious spell was just too weird. Until I finally made a decision. I wanted to protect people from having the same destiny as my mother.'

Williams monologue was finished. Matts thoughts were very clear: he could talk about everything. Somehow, that lifted a weight off his shoulders. He could talk freely with William about every danger that is in or around Mystic Falls.

'I think that is a noble cause, William', Matt said.

'I think so too', William replied.

The two of them stepped into the car and started their patrol. Yet, William had one last thing to say before they started their partnership.

'I do wish my mother was somehow here again.'

* * *

Stefan had looked around for a while now. He had seen most places twice and some even three times. He could feel Damons presence in the city somehow. He knew that sounded weird, but he could feel the bond of brotherhood in this city. Frustration was getting the best of him again.

Damon had disappeared every time Stefan thought he had found him. Sometimes even a little glimpse was seen by the younger Salvatore brother. But it had always ended with wild goose chase.

It was night now and the street lights from Amsterdam paved Stefans way. Not being able to find his brother was hard on him. So he decided to let his mind drift for a while. To take his mind off of matters he began to eye the people that were on the street this evening.

Two guys were walking the streets. They held each other hand and seemed perfectly happy. They even greeted Stefan, a perfect stranger to them. Nothing could go wrong. Until three other guys, wasted to the point of no return, came out of a bar. They began to laugh and call names at the two guys. Stefan felt sorry for those three guys. For their small-mindedness that is.

However the handful of drunks had chosen the wrong subjects for their teasing. The two lovers turned around and gave a witty reply. This enraged the three friends deeply; their troglodyte instinct won from their – supposedly mature – human nature. A fight was enacted. Stefan was conflicted. He wanted to help the friendly gay guys. Yet, his help wasn't wanted. The couple was the winner of the fight.

Stefan smirked and walked on. He encountered a woman sitting on a bench. Several bottles that used to be filled with different kinds of alcoholic drinks were placed around her. She mumbled something to herself. Then she caught a look at Stefan. She mumbled something to him.

'Good looking guy', she drunkenly whispered. 'You seem nice. Can you do something for me?'

This was not the plan. He wanted to let go of everything for a while. Not get involved with someone else's problems. And it sure looked like she had a problem.

After a few seconds Stefan decided on a path. He would ignore the woman's request. So he took one step and then another; he went on. After all, she was too drunk to remember anything he could have said to make her life better. Maybe he could have compelled her to leave all her sorrows behind. But what good would it give her? Would it give her closure? Stefan knew how Jeremy had reacted after he found out Damon compelled him to forget about Vicki's transition and her eventual death. Reaction: not that well.

He had already left the woman two streets behind him when he heard her scream. He turned around and ran back in a flash. The woman wasn't at the same place anymore. He tried to listen carefully where she was now. He heard her breathe. It was soft, like she was asleep. Or in very deep – deadly – trouble.

He entered the next side-street. What he saw then, was equally gruesome as uplifting.

There he was. His brother. In that side-street he held a guy by his head. Literally, by his head. Well, the hair of that head. He had severed it from the other guy's body. It had been a vampire. The desiccated veins were clearly visible on the head and the body.

'Damon?' Stefan wanted to say. He wanted to know what was going on. But his brother was ahead of him.

'I thought it was time we had a little chat, brother.'

* * *

The white light was slowly disintegrating behind her eyelids. The darkness appeared and she opened her eyes. Bonnie didn't have to squint her eyes against the sunlight. Simply because it wasn't there. Twilight had already passed.

Bonnie looked around. The buildings, the canals,… They all seemed familiar. And then it hit her.

'I'm in Amsterdam', she exclaimed.

She looked at her body. She examined her hands and legs. She wanted to be sure there weren't already some side effects by using this astral projection spell. In her Grams' grimoire the spell was combined with some information about it. There were dangers connected to doing this magical act. If your astral body got hurt, the same bruise or wound would be inflicted on her real body. Wherever her real body was didn't matter. And if the spell wasn't done correctly, her astral body could miss some… parts. Body parts that is.

But judging by the way she looked now, the spell had been done precisely the way it should have been.

Bonnie began her search for Damon. But no matter how hard she looked, she didn't find one single clue leading towards him. It had already been an hour-long search. And she wanted to sit down for a while. She saw a pub nearby and decided to get a drink there. Until she remembered that she didn't have any money on her. And if she had, it would have been no use: dollars were not exactly usable in the Netherlands. She took a look at the people sitting on the terrace. A couple of friends enjoying each other's company, a guy trying to impress his date. Even a man with short, brown hair that was gelled on the top with blue eyes was seen by her. He had a few empty glasses sitting in front of him.

'Alaric?' she said to herself. But then she repeated it, more loudly: 'Alaric!'

Alaric looked up from his collection of alcoholic emptiness. The look on his faced betrayed that he wasn't happy to see her. But Bonnie didn't care. She walked towards the table where her college professor was seated.

'How have you been?' she said carefully.

Alaric was silent. Either he didn't register the question anymore or he was just ignoring her. Bonnie deemed that the latter option was happening right now.

'Why are you ignoring me? Actually, you haven't talked to any of us since you left to join Stefan. Yet' – Bonnie waved her left arm in the air – 'I don't see him anywhere.'

She knew this could be hard on him. He had lost his wife and unborn children after all. But she felt they needed his help. Mystic Falls needed his help. So she dug right in.

'Look, there's something evil roaming around Mystic Falls. I can't put my finger on what it is, but I do know that we have to do something', Bonnie exclaimed. 'I have been seeing these things. Visions. They tell me something really bad is about to happen.'

"Bottoms up" was the only thing on Alarics mind. A bottle replaced the glass that was supposed to contain whiskey. Alaric had always been on and off the verge of alcoholism, but this time it was worse. Since the tragedy that took place during his wedding ceremony, he had sustained himself by drinking all kinds of alcohol. Martini, wine, whiskey,… He had drunk it all. Booze had been his only solace this entire time.

And now Bonnie was here to spoil the fun.

'They always do', Alaric responded.

Bonnie felt sorry for him. Losing your wife and unborn twins the way he had… During their own wedding! God, she couldn't even imagine how that must feel like it. And it had all been her fault. It all led to her. She trapped Kai in the 1903 prison world. The world where the Heretics and the Salvatore mommy were held prisoner.

'Ric, I'm so sorry for what happened. If I hadn't locked Malachai up there in that prison world, he would have never turned into a hybrid', Bonnie apologized.

Alaric looked right into her eyes. He tilted his head a little and said: 'It's not your fault, Bonnie. You wanted to get rid of that monstrous prick. He tortured you while you were alone in that other prison world or whatever.' Alaric stared at the ground. 'But if you are asking me to return to that dreadful place, the place where I practically lost all of my girlfriends, then my answer is no.'

'But…', Bonnie muttered, 'you can't just leave us hanging. I believe we need your help. And as soon as we find Damon, which I think you did, and convince him that his hometown is in danger, you'll be left alone.'

'Bonnie, I'm not going back. I just can't.' Alaric waved at a waitress and ordered some more shots.

Bonnie had enough. Alaric had suffered a lot these past few years, even more these past few months. But he couldn't live his life like this. This wasn't a life at all. So she told him this as honestly and frankly as she could.

'You can't just live your life like this, Alaric. That's not a life at all. Besides, Elena told me to keep a journal of everything she is missing. When she wakes up in sixty-some years and finds out that you died from alcohol poisoning, she's gonna wanna know what happened.'

 _Elena_ , Alaric thought. He had been a legal guardian to her. He had been a guardian, sans legal, to her. A mentor of some sorts. When she wanted to protect herself from evil vampires, especially emotionless Stefan at that time, he had trained her. The determination that she had to fight off the forces of evil was astonishing. He had admired that, saw it as her strength. Just like her compassion.

Alarics thoughts were immediately sucked into that vision. That vision he had with Elena.

' _You're gonna think that the pain will never end. But it will'_ , she had said to him. _'But first you have to let it all in. You can't fight it. It's bigger then you. You have to let yourself drown in it. But then eventually you'll start to swim, and every single breath that you fight for will make you stronger. And I promise that you will beat it.'_

Except he hadn't let it all in. He had numbed himself with numerous kind of alcohol. That was what he wanted to drown in. And had been doing ever since.

But he felt it was time to let it all in. The pain, the drowning feeling of being all alone,… Yet, there were still his friends. Like Damon. Damon had stood by him these past months. Alaric had helped him kill vampires that attacked ordinary people or innocent bystanders. This is what he explained to Bonnie, and he finalized his statement with the following.

'Okay', Alaric finally exclaimed. 'I'll come back to Mystic Falls.'

'Great!' Bonnie was happy with his decision. The whole group could almost be together again. Well, almost everyone of course.

'Where can we find Damon?'

'I know where he is', Alaric said, and they both got up from their chairs while Alaric left some money behind.

* * *

Stefan stood there, not knowing what to say. He saw the drunken woman laying on the ground. Blood oozed out of her neck. It had clearly been the dead vampire who attacked her. There were no traces of blood around Damons mouth and his veins weren't visible at all.

'You killed this vampire to protect that woman, didn't you?'

'You catch on pretty quick, Stefan. Bravo', he said dryly, like nothing big had happened.

Stefan looked at his brother. His older brother had changed a lot. When he arrived in Mystic Falls back in 2009, it was for his own selfish goal to free Katherine. It hadn't bothered him that it would have put the town in danger. In fact, he would have enjoyed it. Possibly because of what the citizens did to Katherine back when he believed they had burned her in Fell's church.

But then he came to know Elena, really know her. He had already met her, finding her on the road the same night her parents died. He had compelled her to forget it. But she remembered once she was turned into a vampire by his blood. In the meantime, a lot had taken place. He had protected the town from the tomb vampires and Katherine. He even had been part of the plan to take Klaus down once and for all. Ultimately, that plan failed. Badly!

His love for Elena had grown. And not only his love, but also his entire being. He had made friends – whom he didn't have for a long time. He even bonded with his brother who's life he had sworn to make miserable.

Meanwhile, just standing there was boring Damon.

'Are you going to let your hair grow in the moonlight or are you going to help dispose of this vampire corpse?' sounded Damons question.

Stefan let out a big sigh and started helping his brother. When an unexpected wanderer – one who had heard the piercing cry of the woman – passed the side-street, he almost started to scream the whole neighborhood together. Stefan compelled him while Damon dealed with the female victim.

After all of that had been cleaned up – body buried, woman sent home – Stefan turned to Damon again. They hadn't said a word the whole time they were doing this.

'So is that what you have been doing all this time, Damon? Killing vampires?' Stefan finally dared to ask.

Damon stood next to the vampire's grave and turned his head towards his brother.

'Yes, I have, Stefan.'

'All of those people – the girl and guy in Paris and all the others – were attacked by another vampire and you wanted to defend them? Why?'

'I felt like it.' Damon rolled his eyes while he answered Stefans question in a way only Damon would.

Stefan looked down at the grave. He had already figured out what was going on. But he needed to hear it from Damon.

'You have been doing this for Elena, haven't you?'

'Wasn't it obvious enough, brother? The innocent girls? The perfectly girls-next-door? The bystanders?' Damons mouth turned into a thin line. A line that was filled with pain, sorrow, and heartbreak.

Suddenly, that line turned into recognition. Even a glance of recognition had the power to exclude the pain for a few seconds. He turned around. Stefan had heard them too.

'Bonnie?' Damon asked.

'What?' she answered. 'You thought you could go on a killing spree without meeting us in the process? Damon, haven't you learned anything from me?'

'Of course, I did, Bon Bon', was Damons reply.

Bonnie and Damon hugged each other. Both of them content to see each other's face.

Stefan and Alaric looked at each other. They knew that Bonnie and Damon had grown on each other, became friends even while they were in the 1994 prison world. Something that Alaric hadn't seen coming. Stefan did though.

And everything was explained in the process. How Damon had left on this mission, as revenge for losing Elena. How Stefan had tried to find him in Prague, Munich, Paris, and several other cities or towns. How Alaric had found Damon sooner and made an agreement to drown their sorrow by drinking and killing vampires. That was something that these two drinking buddies had already bonded over years ago.

Bonnie elucidated what she had been doing this summer, and even added why she came here to find the three of them.

Damon stood there, silently. He had frowned on that last part.

'I'm not going back', he stated. It was clear that he meant it.

Stefan felt like he needed to tell about their mother. Maybe that could persuade him. But then he thought of what Kai had done, and what the Heretics did. They did give Malachai the idea to transform into a vampire-witch hybrid. _No_ , he thought to himself. _Not a good idea._

'What?' Bonnie said. 'What do you mean "I'm not going back"?'

'Like I said. Not. Going. Back.'

'Come on, Damon', Alaric started. 'Maybe we can help with whatever Bonnie thinks she sees in her visions.'

'You know, Ric, I have enjoyed these months with you. They were a blast. But if you are going to be a pain in my ass again, there's only one thing left to do.'

Damon was about to snap Alarics neck, but Bonnie was ahead of him. She used her magic to pop his brain vessels, like she had done before. Damon put his hands against his head. Bonnie didn't like to do this to what she called a friend now.

'Why are you acting like this?' Bonnie said, while Damon screamed in agony.

No answer. Stefan got down on his knees in front of Damon. He looked into Damons eyes.

'He has turned off his humanity. Right, Damon?' he stated.

'You've got to be kidding me', Bonnie and Alaric said in unison.

'Yep!' Stefan said. 'And if there's one thing that is going to be trouble, it is emotionless Damon Salvatore with a purpose.'

'You know it', Damon said silently, still under the influence of the painful magic.

All of a sudden, Bonnie stopped doing magic. Her whole body started to tremble.

'Bonnie?' Damon worriedly asked.

Bonnie didn't answer. She just stared at the horizon like there was something dark looming there. Her stare went on and on. Alaric, Damon and Stefan didn't know what to do.

At the same time in Mystic Falls, Bonnie's real body was shaking as well. She gasped loudly.

'Bonnie!' Caroline yelled.

She got down on her knees in front of Bonnie. She bit on her lip. Caroline had no sense of magic at all. She knew how some things worked, but Bonnie had always been the one to count on for witchy business.

'Bonnie! I don't know what to do!'

But Bonnie didn't hear her. She had a vision. The vision she had seen a numerous times this summer. It had plagued her during her sleep, even during the day when she was fully awake.

Bonnie saw the familiar scenery all too clear. It started with downtown Mystic Falls looking like it always did. But suddenly it changed. She saw Matt driving down the road in a police cruiser, wearing the deputy's uniform. The town square was in ruins. Even the Mystic Grill – a place that she and her friends had visited regularly – looked as though it is boarded up. Fires rage in trash cans on the sidewalk.

The look on Matts face in this vision is unbearable. He looks defeated as he continues to drive past the well-known clock tower. Bonnie knew already what she was going to see next. A figure is standing on the top of the clock tower. It is Damon. He is standing and scowling unhappily as he looks out at the town.

And then everything faded to a bright white light again.

* * *

Matt and William had been patrolling for about an hour now. It was pretty quiet in Mystic Falls. Nothing bad had happened. One call came in from an older lady to help her with one of her neighbors' cats stuck in a tree. The woman had agreed to take care of them once her neighbor – and apparently friend – passed away a few days ago.

The cat had been saved, although that was usually what they called a fireman for. But Matt wanted to help in any way possible. Even William agreed with that. After all, this town had known its fair share of gruesome events. It could use a bit of normalcy like helping a cat out of a tree.

'Well, I guess the cat is out of the tree', William said with a pat on Matts shoulder.

'Really? A cat out of the bag joke?' Matt asked.

The two of them smirked and wanted to step into the police car again. Suddenly, someone spoke through the radio.

'Deputy Donovan?' the male voice asked.

'Yes?'

'You have to come to the high school, deputy. It's bad. Really bad.'

Matt and William turned their heads to look at each other. As quickly as they could they drove off. Matt still respected the road signs, though. When they arrived at the high school, not a single soul was to be found. Matt had parked at the spot where he used to park when he was still in high school. The duo got out of the car and slowly pulled out their guns. With all the supernatural beings around you could never be too careful. William made a hand sign to let Matt know that they should split up.

Matt had only reached the entrance door when William yelled something.

'Hey, Matt! Over here!'

It came from the stoner pit. Matt ran towards the place and already met William who seemed to look at a horrifying scene. As he turned around the corner, he saw another police car. The guy who had called for them was standing beside it. This police officer also looked towards the same thing. Matt decided to take a look at whatever was so horrific.

Matt was wrong. It wasn't just horrific, it was mortifying. Sick, just plain sick. A woman and a man were hanging from the ceiling, bleeding out. A pool of fresh blood was forming underneath them. Matt felt the need to throw up. He had seen many disgusting things, but this was just really disgusting. The woman and the man weren't strangers to him either. It was the school's principal and her secretary.

A group of people came out of the school through the door near by the stoner pit. Something graceful oozed from the woman ahead of the others. He recognized her as the Salvatore brothers' mother Lillian. _So those people behind her are those notorious Heretics_ , Matt thought to himself. He didn't recognize any others until a guy with short jet black hair, dark eyes, light olive skin and a solid jaw line. A cocky smirk was added to this all. It was Enzo.

'Hello, gentlemen', Lillian spoke. 'I believe we have had a situation on our hands. We had to kill these two people, because they were blocking our path.'

The other police officer held up his gun towards her and wanted to shoot the band of vampires, although not all of them ordinary vampires. One of them vamped towards him and quickly bit down his neck. Matt and William were dumbstruck. The Sheriff arrived at the same time that the body fell out of the Heretic's hands. He calmly returned to Lily. Just to stand beside her as if nothing happened.

'Thank you, Malcolm', Lily said. 'The Sheriff has also arrived, I see.'

Ethan made his way to stand beside Matt and William. He took a good long look at the entire scenery and dove into a conversation with the nefarious Heretics.

'What do you want from us?' he asked.

'That is really simple, actually', one of the other Heretics began. 'Mystic Falls is ours now. So is any human who steps inside of it.' She walked around like she was having a monologue on her own talk show. 'These two', she pointed towards the hanging bodies, 'denied us passage into this lovely – what's the word? – high school. If we can't even explore our own ground, what has become of the world?'

The Sheriff exchanged looks with Matt and William. The two of them didn't know what to say. Matts only thought was that this could not be happening. His town in the hands of some crazy vampiric witches? No! It could not be true. Yet, the Sheriff was clear about it. He stepped back and suggested that they should do the same.

But Matt and William didn't want to resist this group on their own. Matt knew what they could do. To watch out was the message. As the two of them drove away, Matt decided that his friends needed to get back in Mystic Falls as fast as they could. They discussed this incident the entire way back to the police department.

Matt finished the conversation with this: 'This kind of evil is not going down without a fight. And it will be a bloody one too.'

* * *

 _INSERT SONG: Knocking On Heavens Door - Raign_

A bright light seemed to shine all around her. She didn't know where she was. It looked like an entire white room, but she didn't see any walls. She did feel something underneath her. She was laying on something hard and cold. Like metal. She straightened her back and got up. She didn't see anything other than white. It stretched out in front of her like snow and ice. She dared to stand on her feet while looking around again. There wasn't a sign of a door anywhere.

'Hello?' she asked.

She looked at her brown hair and the dress she was wearing. She remembered that dress from somewhere. She should remember it. It felt like it had been an important piece of her life. Was it her wedding?

' _No'_ , she thought. ' _This is a beautiful dress, but not a wedding dress._ '

The young woman walked around, but still she didn't see a single sign. Not one person or thing to look at or to inspect what it might hide. Not like she was suspicious or anything. Okay, she actually was, but she was in an unknown room without a sign of life, except her own. But that was another question: what was her life? She didn't seem to recall anything of her past. Not even her name.

Suddenly, the white seemed to fade. Other colors were appearing in front of her. The white auditory slowly turned into a real-life room. There were windows, a door… She was standing in a freakin' living room. It looked like a cabin of some sorts.

'What is happening?' she demanded. 'What is going on here?'

The wooden door on the other side of the room creaked.

'Who's there?'

No answer.

'I said.' Now even her voice croaked. But she suddenly found strength again. 'Who's there?!'

'It is going to be alright, Elena. Everything is going to be alright', the mysterious voice said. 'Just go to sleep again. You need your rest.'

So that's what my first name is: Elena. Every thought, feeling or moment she had ever experienced came crashing down in her brain. It made her feel dizzy. Her legs had a hard time keeping her up. Her entire life flashed in front of her eyes. From growing up with her parents to the car accident in 2009. From meeting Stefan to breaking up with him. Even the little fights she had with her best friends Caroline and Bonnie. But also the supernatural problems that they faced: tomb vampires, evil doppelgängers, Original vampires, ghosts with a grudge, immortals, Travelers,… Even the hybrids and Kai Parker. And then she remembered everything. Her name was…

'Elena Gilbert. I'm Elena Gilbert.'

She fainted.

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: S07E02 - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?**

MAKE BELIEVE – While his brother continues his act, Stefan tries to sway Damon from his new state of mind. A new guy makes a move towards Caroline, who doesn't know what to do with it. Bonnie decides to get some human friends again. Elena has a hard time trying to discover her own whereabouts. Meanwhile, Matts days as Mystic Falls' new deputy prove to be more challenging than he suspected.


	3. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

Season 7 Episode 2: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

 **For information about which actor/actress plays a character, look for the episode on my MrInigo1995 Fanfiction wikia.**

 _Previously on 'The Vampire Diaries': Stefan travelled all through Europe to find his brother again. Not only did he find him, but he also discovered what Damon has been up to this whole summer. Bonnie tried a spell to track him and found Alaric instead. Caroline confessed the secret that she had been keeping from Bonnie. Matt and his childhood friend William had an ugly encounter with Lily, Enzo and the Heretics. After a close look at his brother, Stefan told Bonnie and Alaric that Damon switched off his humanity. Finally, Elena found herself in a strange place._

'This is so unfair', Tiki said.

'Just finish up, Tiki', Savannah replied. 'You know our boss doesn't like it when our daily work isn't finished.'

'Then why doesn't he finish it up? It is his business after all!'

Tiki was tired of working in a supermarket. As a kid, she had always dreamt of going to places other people – especially the teenagers enrolled at the local elementary school - didn't dare to visit. But that all changed when she had received a popular status at Mystic Falls High School. She had become bossy and mean to other people. She had even let someone unimportant to her do her job during the Sexy Suds Car Wash. Actually, she had been rude to a customer and a brunette. Lonnie, Connie, or something. Karma had been a bitch by biting her in the local supermarket ass. Something she loathed. Tiki knew how insufferable she had been during her high school career.

Savannah, on the other hand, had always aspired to work somewhere in Mystic Falls. Her dreams still consisted of the same, age-old things: a beautiful girlfriend, a nice house and a likeable job. She had succeeded in that three-part plan to some extent. Her job was great. The house had not been realized yet, but a beautiful apartment close to the town's square. And yes, she had a beautiful girlfriend. She was even a colleague. But the problem with her current girlfriend was that… well, she was practically… not a nice person.

'Can I make it better?' Savannah teased seductively.

Tiki smiled. 'You know you can always try.'

Savannah took her girlfriend into her arms and placed a kiss on her lips. Tiki giggled. Savannah had to admit it: the person she was locking lips with could also be nice. Once the right moment was there, Tiki showed affection just like any other decent human being. The former Mystic Falls wannabe queen bee had learned her lesson.

A sudden sound broke their attention away from each other.

'What was that?' Savannah asked.

'Probably nothing', Tiki tried to reassure her girlfriend.

Tiki nosed Savannahs neck. Her lips brushing against the sensitive skin. A kiss was quickly planted. But Savannah wasn't sure about enjoying this time together anymore.

'No. Stop, Tiki.'

Savannah pushed the two of them apart. She looked around to see if anyone was in the store. There shouldn't be anyone around though. The store closed about two hours ago.

'There is no one around.' Tiki waved with her arms to make more emphasis on this statement.

'I think that we should find out where that sound came from', Savannah suggested.

'Seriously? Who are we: the new Daphne and Velma? I suppose the next thing coming out of your mouth is "let's split up and search for clues"?' Tiki said as a joke while she turned around to place the final three bottles of water on the shelf.

'First off: that's not Daphne's or Velma's catch phrase, that's Freds. Second: why would we split…?'

A weird sound was heard and Savannahs voice silenced. Tiki turned around to see why she had stopped talking. Her girlfriend was still standing there, but two extra young women were standing beside her. One of them, who looked to be in her early 20's, with dark, medium length wavy brown hair, held Savannah by the throat. Savannahs eyes were speaking the language of panic.

The other was just standing there. The way she did, though, made it seem like she was a tough one. Her blond hair combined with the beautiful features of her face made her angelic. Yet, she had a malicious vibe around her.

'Do you think that is an efficient use of your supposed _working_ hours?' she asked.

Tiki couldn't utter a word. She looked at how Savannah was held captive. And what was the best way to get out of this situation?

'Nothing?' the blonde said. She turned around and looked at her brown-haired companion. 'What do you think, Nora?'

Nora gripped Savannah's chin and made her look into her eyes.

'Oh, I don't know, Mary Louise', she began. 'I mean, they really are cute, don't you think?'

'Yes, but they were doing things that are _just not_ acceptable during work', Mary Louise announced. 'I think they need to be taught a lesson.' Her smile became devilish and she turned to look at Tiki again. 'Or should we just teach the other Mystic Falls residents a lesson?'

Tiki's eyes widened. Her gut told her that something bad was about to happen. A certain death was around the corner.

'I think you're right, my love', Nora smirked.

Suddenly, Mary Louise vamp-sped towards Savannah and dug her teeth into the jugular artery. Nora's smirk became worse and veins started to thicken in her face. In the same way as Mary Louise, Nora's teeth were quickly pierced through the thin skin and blood poured into her mouth.

Savannah screamed while Tiki was too petrified to help her. Although, running away from the scenery was more at the front of her mind than being the hero of the day. Slurping sounds were heard. Mary Louise was the first to let go. Her laugh made the entire event more macabre.

'Much better than those blood bags!' Mary Louise stated.

Savannah was still screaming like heaven and hell collided with each other. Mary Louise rolled her eyes and whispered into Savannahs ear: 'No screaming, please.' And Savannahs neck was snapped just like that, like a little twig that hovers in front of you and you just snap it to get it out of the way. Nora let Savannahs body drop to the floor. A pool of blood was formed and Nora stepped over the dead young woman like she was a disgusting dead cockroach.

'Be glad you didn't already clean the floor', Nora remarked. 'Because then I would have one thing to say: missed a spot.'

Mary Louise chuckled joyfully at Nora's joke. Tiki couldn't see the humor in the situation. The only thing she could think about was an escape plan. _What about the storage room upstairs_ , Tiki thought to herself. A decision was made: die here – practically – right now or finding a way out. _Way out it is!_

Tiki took a few bottles as quickly as she could and threw them towards the two – what were they? Vampires? Well, they acted like vampires. Mary Louise's and Nora's reaction were a few – was it latin? – words and the bottles burst open. That was an advantage for Tiki; vervain extract was added to the water bottles by the remaining Town's Council ever since the anti-magic barrier had been absorbed by Kai. However, Tiki didn't know about the vervain and was just surprised by the outcome: Nora and Mary Louise screaming in agony as their skin burned.

Tiki opened the door towards the storage room and ran as fast she could up the stairs. When she entered the big, yet packed space, she searched for an unlocked window. Finally, she found one on the other side of the room. One leg was already out of the window when she heard one of the two witchy vampires mumble something.

'Phesmatos motus!' Nora chanted.

The window smacked down onto her leg. Tiki felt the worst pain she had ever felt; it was like her leg had been sliced off. She couldn't move it anymore, she was sure of that.

Mary Louise made a disapproving sound. 'Outrunning us isn't an option. Too bad, huh?'

'For her, yes', Nora stated.

Tiki knew that Nora was right. She couldn't escape this.

'Let me help you', Nora said, suddenly, and she extended her arm to lend a hand. The window flew up with just a flick of the wrist of Nora's girlfriend. Tiki was unsure, but Nora took a hold of her hands already. 'I'll help you to get down as quick as possible.'

 _INSERT SONG: Vicious – Karen Elson_

The weight of Nora's precisely chosen words simmered into Tiki's brain. Nora figured out that Tiki knew her fate and threw the black girl's hands into the air. Tiki screamed as she fell down the three story building and her skull was smashed against the ground. A large splash of blood covered a part of the tarmacked backstreet. The two Heretics looked down and smiled approvingly of their work.

A third female Heretic entered the room. She joined her fellow members of Lily's Heretic family and took a look through the window at Tiki's body.

'Lily will be furious', Valerie stated.

Nora cocked her head and simply replied: 'Lily needs to learn that Siphoners aren't designed to coexist. Especially vampiric Siphoners.' Nora noticed a drop of blood on her vest. Sadness took possession of her face. 'Damn, I have a bloody vest because of those dumb hussies.'

'Really? Can you be more vain?' Valerie asked.

Mary Louise stepped up: 'Well, if you were pretty, you'd be too.'

Nora laughed and she took her girlfriend by the arm to lead her down the stairs. Valerie took one last look at what was a girl with dreams just a few minutes ago. She shrugged her shoulders and went on.

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

Something was wrong. Bonnie could feel it. She felt something looming over her, a presence filled the room.

 _Room? How did I get inside a room?_ Bonnie wondered. She – well, her astral projection self – had been with Stefan, Damon and Alaric in Amsterdam when the vision had plagued her. Even with an astral projection spell she couldn't outrun those sightings of an abandoned Mystic Falls. After seeing that futuristic dreadful fate of her town everything faded into a bright white light. And now she was in a room…?

It was her old room. Everything was there, the softness of the red sheets, the dependable nightstand with a few familiar belongings and more. She could also imagine the mirror on the other side of the bed. She remembered when she had laid there with someone who she considered to be part of her past: Jamie, the adoptive son of her mother. The kid who her mother eventually chose to raise instead of her. Yes, this room brought back memories. When and how did they all become bad?

Bonnie saw a shadow on the ground and immediately thought off the presence she had felt a few seconds ago. She sat straight up as fast as she could and slammed the person against the wall of her room with the sheer word "motus".

'Gee, Bonnie. Remind me to never be in a room with you while you're waking up', Caroline stated sarcastically. 'You never did that during sleepovers.'

'I'm so sorry', Bonnie apologized and she climbed out of bed. Of course her vampire friend didn't need help getting up, but it was just an act of friendship.

'Never mind.' Caroline stood on her feet again and examined Bonnie like there was something wrong with her.

'What?'

'How are you, Bonnie?' the blonde vamp asked.

'Fine', was Bonnie's answer.

'Really?' Caroline wondered. 'Then how come you decided to faint during a spell while your astral self was in Amsterdam?'

Bonnie decided that Caroline had to know what future their hometown was going to be. Bonnie let a sigh escape her lips. 'Look, I have experienced these visions.'

Caroline was alarmed. She knew that Bonnie's visions in the past had forecast trouble, turmoil and darkness. Somehow she knew that this had not changed over the years. There was only one thing left to ask: 'How bad is it?'

'Have you seen those new dystopian young adult books the Divergent trilogy and the Hunger Games trilogy?'

'Yes?'

Bonnie gave Caroline a look that easily translated to: enough said.

'Oh, God!' Caroline exclaimed. Her eyes drifted towards something in the horizon.

Bonnie hadn't noticed this, though. She just went on saying: 'In my vision Mystic Falls looks like a post-apocalyptic dystopian town. Like something went awfully wrong.' Bonnie finally caught on Caroline's attention to whatever was behind her. 'Are you even listening?'

Caroline's eyes went back to Bonnie's. The concerned look on her face grew worse when she thought about the way the confrontation with her friend was about to turn dire. Because something wicked made its way into their town.

* * *

Three handsome guys were sitting at the bar counter of a random Dutch café. Empty glasses of several drinks were piled up neatly into a pyramid by someone with too much time on his hands. Which is what Stefan told his brother.

'You have _way_ too much time on your hands, Damon', Stefan said. He sat on the right side of his older brother.

Damon took another sip of his whiskey while mumbling: 'I lost my girlfriend to a magical coma which links her to a Bennett witch that has a knack for avoiding permanent _death_. I think I have the right to spend my time drinking.' Damon turned to Alaric and said: 'Just like my bud, here.'

'Does anybody else have a strange feeling in his cheeks?' Alaric asked. 'It's like… Well, like I don't feel them.'

Stefan sighed and got up from his bar stool. 'You know, I think you two have been through hell. But this has got to stop. You are throwing your life away.' Stefan started to walk towards the exit. 'And I'm not staying here to watch you do that.'

Alaric watched how his best friend's brother walked out of the bar, and into the breathtaking sunlight. He finally faced Damon when he couldn't see the figure of the brooding vampire anymore.

'Are you sure you don't want to go with him?' Alaric asked. 'You two need to have a decent talk.'

Damon gave his buddy a look and replied: 'Good one. But I'm not leaving you alone here.'

'You know as well as I do that Stefan knows your little secret, Damon. Besides, I don't need a babysitter.'

Damon threw his glass towards the wall in front of them. It shattered loudly and the bartender walked towards the dynamic drinking duo. When he arrived, Damon had already stood up to look him in the eyes. Just like that, the vampire who possesses dark brown almost black hair which hangs just over his ears compelled the bartender to clean up the mess and walk away.

After that, he turned to Alaric and said: 'Okay, now that's out of the way, let me tell you two things. First off; you are going to keep your mouth _shut_ about that one thing. It's up to me if I want to tell my brother or not. Second; this isn't about what _you_ need, Ric. Keeping you from jumping off a cliff after losing your fiancée like that keeps my mind of Elena.'

'Glad to see my misery is just a convenient distraction', Alaric stated.

Damon simply replied with a popping "yup" and drank from his glass until it was empty. Alaric stared at Damon for a moment, until the latter got creeped out and broke the silence with asking "what".

'I'm glad you're here, buddy', Alaric said while sporting a slight smile.

* * *

 _Dear diary_ , Valerie began writing in her dairy while sitting on a bench in the Mystic Falls' town square. She thought about what she wanted to write down for a few eye blinking moments and then continued: _I think I'm in hell. I used to think, up until two months ago, that the prison world was hell. But the way the world is now, is even worse than hell. Since my arrival in Mystic Falls, I've learned three things: the food is literally made of poison, the air smells like a plague, and everyone wants to know what everyone else is doing. Either it's through text messages, snap shots of themselves, or just messages sent into the wide world web or something like that. This is not a world I want to live in._

And just like that, her new phone announced a brand new text message. Valerie stuffed her dairy into her handbag, threw the latter on her shoulder and started to walk towards home. As she strolled through the streets of Mystic Falls, she tried to answer the message Nora sent her. She really tried her best, but she can't seem to get it to work. Tapping the screen multiple times while frustration grew with seconds wasn't helping the situation either.

It had been her turn to get blood bags from the local hospital. Although she could hardly call it a hospital; it looked more like people who were admitted to this particular care center would not survive the experience. And enjoying the little free time she had was hard when she was being stalked by a ridiculous black device with which people could contact you every minute of every day.

Finally, she arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House. Lily, Valerie and the other Heretics had been living there ever since Stefan left the house to go on a search for Damon. Valerie entered the house and immediately smelled the blood. Lily had filled a teapot with blood and was pouring it into tea cups for the other Heretics Malcolm, Beau, Nora, and Mary Louise to drink.

Valerie stepped into the living room where they were all seated. Of course Nora was the first to stand up and ask the most important question.

'Did you get them?'

Valerie took the blood bags gracefully out of their hiding spot, and handed them to Lily. She then simply replied: 'Yes.'

'Finally, you were stalling to write in your diary, weren't you?' Mary Louise said. 'God, can you just stop wallowing in your own words? I thought you told me _I_ was vain.'

'Can you two please stop bickering?' Lily insisted. She took a stand right between the Heretic girls. Lily looked the three of them in the eyes and said: 'Now, let's all take a seat and drink our tea.'

Valerie, Mary Louise and Nora sat down. When Lily offered Malcolm a cup of tea with blood, he holds up a hand to decline and pushes the cup towards the all too eager Nora and Mary Louise. The couple was seated side-by-side across the table.

'None for me, Lily. I've had enough for today', he said.

'What a _saint_ you are, Malcolm', Nora said, with the slightest hint of sarcasm.

Malcolm shrugged it away with a smile, which caught Lily's attention. She smiled at him and rubbed his shoulder affectionately. Everyone took a cup in their hands and drank from it. Sounds of satisfaction filled the room. But another sound made its way through the others; it dominated them.

'This is ludicrous', Nora remarked.

Mary Louise, who stood by her girlfriend, joined in: 'Nora is right. How long are we to live on three sips a day? It's that damn prison world all over again.'

Lily sighed and replied: 'Beau is not complaining.'

'Maybe because Beau is _mute_ ', Mary Louise defended herself.

Beau, who was drinking from his cup, side-eyed her, looking offended. Lily gave Mary Louise a stern look as well. This caused Mary Louise to shrink away slightly in embarrassment.

* * *

'They did _what_?!' Bonnie exclaimed. Disbelief filled her entire being; this could not be happening. Six of those Heretics had escaped the prison world of 1903. This meant that six people were possibly like Kai. Like Jo – dear, sweet Jo – had said: vampires with witch powers; an aberration of nature. Just imagining six Kai's with the bloodlust of a vampire was already so abhorrent that Bonnie had to control her breathing.

'I know, Bonnie. Two more girls were also found dead this morning. One girl's neck was snapped, and the other took a "fall" and landed on the street. We both know them. It was Savannah and Tiki who were killed', Caroline said worriedly. 'Bonnie, I don't know what to do. We all don't know what to do to them. I mean; they're _vampires_ and _witches_ at the same time. How can we stop them? Do you think vervain bombs will help?'

Thinking of Kai's attacks on her life made Bonnie's soul cringe. Those Heretics were supposed to have died when the prison worlds collapsed. This had been Kai's doing: killing himself so his entire family would be dead. Bonnie had known about the other Heretics, but it hadn't crossed her mind that Kai agreed to free them. Lily had actually won. As much as they had done to stop her, she _actually_ got her family back.

'I – I – I need to think about stuff for a while', Bonnie whispered. She walked out of her room into the hallway. She was followed by Caroline.

'Wait, Bonnie', Caroline started, but she was cut off by her friend.

'No, Caroline! I'm done! I have always put others before me. Even people I didn't know. But that is over! When I returned from the 1994 perpetual prison, I promised that I would put me first. And that's exactly what I'm about to do.'

And with those words, Bonnie left her own house behind her as she closed the front door. She left Caroline standing there in the hallway.

 _INSERT SONG: Bad Blood – Sleeping At Last_

Bonnie knew she had been harsh, but she needed to be. Ever since she discovered her heritage, she had been used too many times. She had been involved in lots of dangerous, life-threatening situations. Like the one time she had been kidnapped by Klaus to unlink him from his siblings after his mother Esther had performed a linking spell. She had seen Damon in the mansion, but did not save him from Rebekah's torture. They weren't on best terms back then.

While thinking about all those bad happenings, she walked through the streets. She reached the town square and decided to rest on the nearby bench. She looked over at the placard on the bench upon which she was sitting that read "In Loving Memory of Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes". All the people every one of her friends had lost was just incredibly plaintive. Her own father, both of Elena's parents, even Caroline's parents. Tyler had had his fair share of loss too: first his father during 2010's Founder's Day Celebration and then his mother after the same year's Winter Wonterland-themed party. Every face passed her mind.

Bonnie noticed a familiar face walking towards a deputy cruiser near the well-known clock tower of Mystic Falls: childhood friend Matt Donovan. They had both been on lifeguard duty together a few summers ago. Bonnie smiled slightly at the practically only normal guy in the entire town. He had not seen her though. Bonnie came up behind him and playfully poked him. Matt, being freaked out and on the edge, wanted to pull out his gun, but when he realized it was Bonnie, he let it rest in the holster.

'Hey', Bonnie said with a smile.

'Bonnie, hey!' Matt greeted.

Matt opened up his arms and Bonnie embraced her friend again. They embraced for a moment before breaking apart. Yet, in that moment all those adventures, thrills and celebrations passed through each of their minds. Bonnie couldn't help but think about the day when Matt would die. After all, he had become a deputy – in Mystic Falls even – so death was just around the corner for someone like Matt. And Bonnie didn't want that. She wanted Matt to live a happy life; a normal, happy life with a nice girl and maybe some kids. Matt would probably be a bit old-fashioned about that. The thought of losing another friend made Bonnie sad.

'I was wondering how that spell had gone. I didn't know you were back already', Matt stated. 'I figured it would take a day or two to convince Alaric to come back.' He noticed the look on Bonnie's face and added: 'And Stefan and Damon too.'

Bonnie, who didn't want to start a fight about the Salvatores, just replied: 'I honestly have no idea what to do, Matt.'

'You mean with the Heretics?' Matt asked.

'Yes, indeed.'

William approached the duo of friends with a smile. He greeted Bonnie too.

'I didn't know you were back', Bonnie said to William.

'That's what you said', William said, talking about and looking at Matt. 'I decided to protect the town. Apparently Matt had the same idea.' He gazed back at Bonnie and said: 'Just like you with your magic.'

Bonnie was startled. How did William know she was a witch? William explained quickly that his mother's dairy contained many secrets. Secrets for which she had been called crazy, but were in fact truthful. Suddenly, William remembered he had to say something to Matt.

'Matt, the sheriff decided how he would handle that band of danger, William said, referring to the Heretics. 'He thinks it would be best to evacuate the town so the citizens will be safe. And then he can think about a strategy to stop them.'

'He _what_?' Matt and Bonnie said in unison.

'I can't think of another solution.' William finished with this: 'Oh, and we need to patrol again. Sorry to end our encounter abruptly, but orders are orders.' He had directed the first to Matt and the last to Bonnie. He stepped into the cruiser and expected Matt to do the same.

Matt was about to do that, but was stopped by Bonnie.

'Okay, am I the only one who doesn't know _where_ I am anymore?' She paused before continuing with a worried expression. 'Matt, surrendering the town is _not_ the solution. We need to _stop_ them.'

'They had been stopped, Bon, back in 1903. But then, you betrayed that Malachai guy, he let them out, and I got to bury a few friends again.'

This hurt Bonnie right in the gut. She paused for a moment in disbelief of what had been said. 'So this is my fault?'

Matt, realizing what had just happened, said guiltily: 'No. I didn't say that…'

Both of them stared at each other for a moment until a sigh escaped Matt's lips.

'Look, I gotta go patrol.'

And that ended the conversation according to Matt, because he stepped in the car and drove away with William by his side.

Bonnie couldn't believe it. Matt's words might not have been what he had intended to say, but that didn't take the truth away. The young woman with olive skin just stood there. The wind played with her hair, which she wore in soft waves and was a little past her shoulders. This was the first time that Bonnie thought of this: what if she would lose a friend in another way then how she usually lost one, through death?

* * *

Stefan walked towards the hotel where Damon and Alaric were staying. Of course, he had joined them already yesterday, but the night had been intense. After astral Bonnie had disappeared right in front of them, they had been astonished. And Stefan's revelation about Damon's current behavior had not been taken lightly either.

But Stefan knew the truth. He had lied to the others, although he took in mind that Alaric might know too: Damon did _not_ turn off his humanity. He rubbed his broad forehead as he thought of this second lie. The first was about meeting his mother Lily, and now this one. Stefan pressed the button and waited for the elevator.

When the doors opened, Damon unexpectedly stood behind them. His expression betrayed the loss, slight depression, and love he had endured this past year. Stefan calmly entered the elevator while he let Damon push the button for the fifth floor.

'So, _brother'_ , Damon began, 'why did you lie about me turning off my humanity?'

'Wouldn't it be a better question why you act like you _have_ turned it off?' Stefan replied. 'I don't see the point of it, actually. I thought you would be happy I tagged along with your charade.'

The brothers had been standing side-by-side the entire time; it was now that Damon decided to face his brother.

'I am quite surprised, Stefan. And I really want to know why you lied to Bonnie?'

'Look', Stefan uttered, 'I know you two have become best friends during your time in the 1994 prison world. Do you really want to test that friendship by letting everyone believe that you flipped the switch?' Stefan thought everything through and finally cast these hurtful words out: 'Do you think that is what Elena would have wanted?'

This touched a nerve within Damon's behavioral system. He lashed out by punching his younger brother in the face. This was a delicate subject, and it would be for the next twenty-two thousand days, give or take. Stefan grunted as he felt the pain inflicted on him. They had reached the fifth floor, and the two of them stepped out. Both of them walked towards their room, but stopped in front of it.

'Do _not_ use her as an excuse!' Damon yelled, his anger still raging through his body.

'When you stop doing that exact same thing, so will I', Stefan gave as a reply.

The two of them just stood there, like a duel similar to those classic western films, ready to draw their guns. But that didn't happen. In fact, they calmed down a few seconds after. They realized that this was not the way to solve things.

'Okay, so I have been acting like I switched it off. But it's not that important; Alaric knows, you know, I know, but that latter is logical', Damon spoke. 'I did it to hide the fact that I don't know what to _do_ , Stefan. Switch it off, let it on. Everything has been kind of blurry since I had to put my _girlfriend_ in a _coffin_ because of a sleeping spell.'

Stefan sighed, again. 'I know. But you have to stop bumping in these walls of sadness you built around you. That is not going to fix it.'

Damon registered this for what it was: an intervention and the truth. He had been wallowing in sadness all these months. The time had come to come to terms with Elena's faith and search for a way of survival without having a brooding depression. He knew it was time to…

'Come home with me, Damon. Mystic Falls is _our_ home. And Elena is still there, waiting for you', Stefan said with as much compassion as he could muster. This was of course easy for the dark blonde vampire. His deep-set, forest green eyes practically were made of compassion.

Damon agreed and they finally entered their room together. Alaric had already packed their bags and was waiting on one of the beds.

'Finally', he said. 'I thought it would take forever for you to come in.'

Suddenly, Stefan's phone rang. Stefan quickly responded to it. Caroline's name appeared on the screen.

'Hey, Caroline', he said, his voice dripping off kindness towards her. 'What's the matter?'

Damon and Alaric looked at the brooding vampire as his eyes darkened. Something very awful had happened back in Mystic Falls, Damon and Alaric were sure of that now. Damon used his vampire hearing to overhear the conversation. What he heard awakened something in him.

'What is going on?' Alaric whispered.

Stefan laid his phone on the bedside table after putting it on speaker, allowing the others to hear it too. Caroline started to spill about the horrific deaths again.

'It were those Heretics and Lily', Caroline finally said.

'Reception went a little fuzzy, I think, blondie. It _sounds_ like you said mine and Stefan's mom got her family of crazies back', Damon interrupted sarcastically.

Alaric looked horrified. Flashes of many Kai's killing his fiancée dominated his mind. Even a look of "are you kidding me?" was present for a few eye blinking moments.

'Can you give us more details?' Alaric finally tried to ask.

'Matt found out that the boarding house isn't vacant. So he went there to investigate. I'm meeting up with him. That's all there is for now. I just have to do something first before I meet up with him. I hope you'll return rapidly, because this has to end. Now!' This was clearly a demand. 'Bye', she said lastly, as friendly as ever.

 _The fantasy and illusions are over_ , Damon thought. _Time to go back to reality._

* * *

 _INSERT SONG: Shouldn't Be A Good in Goodbye – Jason Walker_

Caroline walked to a destination close to the Salvatore boarding house. She opened the gates and entered the open space that was filled with many tombstones. She passed several graves: Sheila Bennett, Amelia Bennett, Ernestine Bennett, John Gilbert, Jenna Sommers, Miranda and Grayson Gilbert and more. All the people they had lost were somewhere here, at Mystic Falls Cemetery. She also passed the graves of Richard and Carol Lockwood.

Finally, she reached the grave she really wanted to visit. It was the grave of her mother. Her name was engraved into a tombstone, alongside additional information that always came with someone's headstone: wonderful mother and Sheriff. The flowers she had chosen and bought in a nice flower store were placed on her mother's grave in an instant.

A tear rolled down Caroline's cheek. Her mouth turned from just sad to utterly miserable. More tears started to form in her eyes and she let them go wild. She had the right to grieve this harsh loss. It had been a few months already, but that still didn't take away the fact that she lost her mother.

Now she didn't have anyone anymore. Her father died because he didn't want to complete the transition when he was killed by Alaric during his time as Esther's influenced pet. This had been such a moment of dismal; knowing her father didn't want to be a vampire, just like she still was, but also to finally connect with her father yet on his deathbed. Losing your only parent left is even worse. Which is why Caroline had decided to go on a downward spiral by shutting everything off. Outcome: total backfire.

 _When will my life be normal again?_ Caroline wondered. _Will I ever live a somewhat normal life full of love and friendship? Is that too much to ask?_ she asked no one in particular.

'Hi', a voice said.

Caroline quickly turned around, scared by the sudden appearance of a voice beside. Normally, she would have heard this person coming. She was stunned.

However, the person standing in front of her could have also caused that. It was a man. Not a guy; a real man. He stood 5'7'' and sported a modern haircut. He had blonde hair and his eyes were green. Not quite dark, not quite light; right in the middle. It was the greenest set of eyes Caroline had ever seen. They made her think of better times, even a better future.

Caroline realized that she hadn't said anything in response so she quickly added: 'Hello.'

'Sorry, did I startle you?' the guy said. His voice dripped with sex appeal, although his body seemed to be quite fit too.

'A bit', Caroline admitted.

Something else hit Caroline like a ton of bricks: she was here to pay respects to her mother, not flirting with some random guy. She could kick herself for being so superficial. This would have benefited the old Caroline, the one who had been competitive and jealous of Elena because of that. But she had changed: became responsible and protective.

That's why she acted a bit more coldly towards the attractive new guy. 'If you don't mind, I'd like to pay my respects.'

The guy kept his mouth shut, and just stood there. 'She was your mother, right?'

Caroline turned back to him. The expression on her face betrayed everything, including her teary eyes.

'I think this is the part where I say "sorry for your loss"', the guy said.

'Thanks', Caroline whispered. Thinking of her mom nowadays silenced her. All those memories and thoughts pained her entire being. Maybe on one day she would _really_ deal with it. Yet, today wasn't that day.

'I'll leave you to it', the guy said, and he started to walk away.

Caroline looked at him as he walked away. Just like that, a special thought creeped up in her mind. It was something that Liz had said to Damon. Damon had passed it on to Caroline after her mother died. It was how she spoke about her daughter: Caroline needed to know how proud she was and would always be of her.

Right now, the way she was acting, Caroline doubted that her mother would be proud of her. It had been months since she lost her last parent. Liz Forbes had been the kind of person who learned to accept her daughter for who she was: a vampire and a control-freak. Not necessarily in that order. She and Caroline had a strained relationship before, which even worsened after she found out that the blond teenager was changed into a vampire.

But after that she realized that her daughter was a vampire, and not a monster, the two had grown a lot closer. So Caroline made a decision right there, in that moment: she would honor her mother by living life to the fullest, and eventually she would handle her grief correctly.

 _But what about Stefan?_ Caroline wondered. _He admitted he loved me and would wait for me. Am I not betraying him by hanging around with another guy?_ But then she reassured herself: _I am not betraying him. I'm just making a new friend._

She said her goodbyes to her mother, and vamp-sped in the direction where the guy went. He had just turned around the corner after leaving the cemetery property. She started to walk normally and called for him: 'Hey, wait up!'

The guy turned around. His silhouette was breathtaking to say the least. It was like there was some magical aura hanging around him. 'Yes?'

'I'm sorry for the way I acted. It's just that my mom and I had a special connection. And now she's gone; I have a hard time dealing with it', Caroline said. 'So again: sorry.'

'It's okay. I understand perfectly. How about we start over?' he suggested. 'Hello, I'm Andrew.'

Caroline nodded approvingly and introduced herself: 'Hi, I'm Caroline.'

The two of them walked towards the town square. It was the place Caroline and Matt had agreed to meet each other. The sun shone brightly above them; it was just 3:00 p.m. after all. And for just a moment, Caroline forgot about the new trouble she and her friends were facing.

Until they reached the town square and Matt was already there. Caroline said goodbye to Andrew and strolled towards the newest deputy on the Mystic Falls police force.

'So what is the plan?' Caroline asked.

* * *

Lily, Mary Louise and Nora were still in the sitting room of the boarding house having their cup of blood as Lily updated them on her plans. Malcolm and Beau decided to enjoy their time to explore the Salvatore's wine cellar, while Valerie went upstairs to explore the different bedrooms once again. Although Lily knew which one she was examining for two weeks now.

'I am headed to Enzo now. I assume I have nothing to worry about?' Lily asked.

'So, you're allowed to explore this town that dreaded sundown while we're stuck here, in this awful boarding house, starving ourselves, pretending we're not the strongest people on the planet?' Nora stated.

'Need I remind you how things used to be? Although "use" is a proper word, because I have heard about the two bodies found on the supermarket's property. I agreed with the deaths of those two dimwits at the high school, because they were really bothering me. But we can't just kill everyone in our path.' Lily finalized her rant with this: 'You know what the plan is. It's time Enzo knew too.'

'So why did you send Oscar on an errand yesterday evening?' Mary Louise wanted to know. 'Shouldn't he be a part of the _plan_?'

'He certainly is, Mary Louise', Lily said, her posture oozing motherly confidence. 'You know I love you all, and you know about the sacrifices I made to let our family be an _actual_ family. So don't talk to me about excluding you when you went on a rampage. Your… actually _our_ appetite for murder drew unwanted attention, forced us to run for decades, and _then_ got us imprisoned.' Lily shook her head and finally said more calmly: 'Anyway, I'm leaving right now. _Don't_ make me regret leaving you unsupervised.'

Lily closed the front door of the Salvatore house behind her. Nora and Mary Louise were left standing there, in the living room.

'You want do something?' Nora asked.

Mary Louise looked at her girlfriend with as much passion as she could muster. 'What do you have in mind?'

The gap between them was closing with every second. They enjoyed torturing each other before they had a hot make-out session.

'Wait', Mary Louise said.

'What now?' Nora was agitated.

Mary Louise had been secretive of her relationship with Nora for a while now. They knew that times had changed: homosexuality was embraced and even cheered upon. But Nora felt that Mary Louise was still cagey about it all. That reserved attitude about her own sexuality made Nora's temper rise sky high.

Mary Louise caught on Nora's reason to lash out to her like that. 'It's not that', she explained. 'I heard something.'

Suddenly, the doorbell rang at the Heretics' current home, once the Salvatores' home, and Nora looked at her girlfriend with caution. Both of them were on guard. A plan was made silently and Nora walked towards the door while Mary Louise steadied herself for an attack.

Nora answered the door after the doorbell rang for a second time. She found an extremely perky Caroline at the door with a vase of purple orchids in her hands.

'Welcome to Mystic Falls! I'm Caroline', Caroline cheered.

'We're not interested', Nora said, staring blankly at this female visitor.

She wanted to shut the door, but Caroline stopped her, still smiling widely. 'Oh. Oh, no! Don't worry, I'm not selling anything. I'm your neighbor from down the block! I wanted to welcome you here.'

During this talk and Nora's unimpressed looks, Matt and William slipped into the kitchen through the nearest door with each a gun in their hands. Caroline was still babbling about how lovely this neighborhood was, and how she loved what they had "done" with the place. The two guys slowly creeped through the kitchen and towards the front door, ready to shoot the Heretics with vervain darts.

Mary Louise was standing in the hallway, practically the center of the house. Matt had eyes on the blonde Heretic from where he was standing right now. He could shoot her immediately. He aimed for her body, and shot a dart right into her. Mary Louise's face filled with shock. Another two darts were fired and she fell to the floor.

Nora turned around. The reality of what was happening hit her like an earthquake, and there wasn't a shock absorber to counter it. A jolt of rage ignited her vampiric impulses and she tried to attack Matt who was joined by William. Caroline took a hold of Nora's arms and held her tight so William could shoot three darts into Nora too. Caroline let Nora's vervain-infected body fall to the floor. Two down, four to go. Matt took out a stake and wanted to drive it through Nora's and Mary Louise's heart.

However, the commotion coming from the ground floor made Valerie, Beau and Malcolm go back. The three of them saw the scenery and quickly analyzed what was happening. Beau flicked his wrist and Matt flew against the wall before he could stake one of the couple. Caroline realized that the sneaky attack had failed now. They would have to make up their minds as quick as they could. Because a violent outcome was just around the corner.

Caroline tried to save the situation by finally breaking down and revealing her vampire status by vamp-speeding herself and Matt out of the house. She then returned to save William who was just thrown across the living room by Valerie's magical means. Caroline tackled the young woman and a struggle continued. William, who had a brave streak, tried to help Caroline, but was closed in by Beau and Malcolm.

Suddenly, Matt appeared again with a few vervain bombs in his hands. He threw them into the air towards the black Heretic and the obnoxious one. They froze the bombs in mid-air, but this was an advantage for William who saw a way out of this hell. What the Heretics didn't notice, was that there were timers placed on the bombs. And within two seconds they went off. Vervain poured down on the Heretic duo. They screamed in agony as their skin burned off the toxic liquid.

Matt shot two remaining vervain darts towards Valerie. She had just thrown Caroline through one of the windows when she ducked to avoid the flying objects. William fired a stake at Valerie who wanted to avoid that killing piece of wood too, but it excoriated her in her left arm. Slowly, the remaining Heretics were recovering from the previous attacks.

Caroline, who had regained consciousness after getting to see the window close at hand, entered the house again. She took William and Matt by their arms and vamp-sped out of there. Their plan had failed, _miserably_.

 _What now?_ Caroline wondered.

* * *

Bonnie had been sitting in the Mystic Grill for hours now. She had heard about the explosion that took place in the Salvatore boarding house. A pile of glasses stood there by her side on the bar counter. She had begun drinking simple mineral water but it had altered into alcoholic drinks like whiskey and martini. She was now a tad inebriated.

'Can I have another?' she asked the bartender, while trying to withhold a belch.

'I think you have had enough, Bennett', the bartender said. He had been a classmate back at Mystic Falls high school.

Bonnie jumped from her bar stool and defended herself: 'I think I can make decisions on my own, thank you.'

But she left the discussion for what it was, and walked towards the exit (which is the same as the entrance, but that's really not important). Her eyes passed every other person present in the Grill. There weren't many: three people, including the bartender. She abruptly stopped walking when she saw another girl sitting alone, drinking her life away. Bonnie decided that she could use a human friend again. After all, most of her friends consisted of supernatural beings: either a vampire, a werewolf, a witch or a hybrid combination of that threefold.

The black haired young woman with the heart-shaped face walked towards the girl and introduced herself. The other girl looked surprised but greeted her politely and friendly. It wasn't a formal friendliness; it was a genuine act of kindness. This young woman – apparently named Lauren – really had a bright aura, something Bonnie never did believe in. Bonnie sat down and a conversation started up.

The two women talked and talked, and both liked it. It had been like they needed someone to talk too. Although Bonnie had found a good listener and talker in Damon Salvatore, the vengeful and self-confident Salvatore vampire. Their adventures in prison world land connected them in a way that she shared with no one. But the conversation never went to that, thank god. It stayed superficial on favorite films, drinks, how her life experiences had been…

Okay, that last one was tricky for Bonnie, because she wanted to spill all her drama ever since the Salvatore brothers came to town, but that could not happen. Unless she wanted to scare Lauren away.

Unbeknownst to them, five vindictive Heretics made their way through town. They were fixed on destroying something the local community held dear. The Mystic Grill had been destroyed once before, in 2012, when Damon and Elena carried out the plan to wipe out the entire Traveler clan.

The five of them stood side-by-side in front of the restaurant-bar-café. They began chanting a spell: 'Confuso fatina.' Still unaware of what was about to come, everything went on inside the Grill. The bartender took some garbage bags in his hands and carried them outside. Lauren, smiling happily, continued to speak about her ex-boyfriend. Bonnie was the eager audience now. Meanwhile, the Heretics continued their spell.

'Ignos et ignos mortifina. Confuso fatina, ignos et ignos mortifina. Confuso fatina, ignos et ignos mortifina.'

Out of nowhere, the entire fire sprinkler system went off, spraying the clientele with water and forcing many of them to try rush away. But locked doors, something that the Heretics had gotten taken care off too, blocked their paths. Mary Louise, Nora and Valerie giggled and Malcolm and Beau smiled, satisfied by their first step in their revenge plot. Bonnie saw the welcome committee of hell standing outside. In that moment, she knew bad things were about to happen.

And she was right! As soon as the Heretics chanted in unison and loudly "incendia", the water from the sprinklers ignited in flames, causing the customers to begin to scream in fear. One man caught fire and screamed for heaven and hell. Bonnie remembered a protection spell and began chanting the words too, trying to save her interlocutor. Lauren tried to outrun the flames, but it really spread like wildfire: the flames engulfed her body and her hysterical screams were going to plague Bonnie for the rest of her life. Tears streamed down Bonnie's light brown skin.

All of a sudden, Lily appeared in the middle of the wreckage, looking furious as she glares at her family.

'Enough!' she shouted.

The Heretics, shocked to see their "mother", immediately stopped what they're doing. The chanting ended as did the sprinklers. The flames died out.

'I fought tirelessly to reunite us, found ways to coexist in this new world, sacrificed _everything_ to make us a family again! How _dare_ you jeopardize that?' Lily eyed all the occupant Heretics. 'The bloodshed ends now. Besides, I also had a meeting with the Sheriff this afternoon. A solution has presented itself. Follow me.'

Lily walked away, and the Heretics followed behind her, looking slightly ashamed. Bonnie looked devastated by the carnage around her. This could not be happening. What solution had the new Sheriff agreed to?

The Mystic Falls Dept. of Public Works, along with the police force and Caroline worked on an evacuation of the town in the town square. Some citizens were ushering out a flood of cars who were leaving Mystic Falls, while others were boarding up businesses and other buildings. A story had been made up: a mining fire erupted in the tunnels under the town. Police officers were passing out flyers to the drivers of the cars slowly making their way up the main road, and Matt looked upset as he took a look at his hometown being abandoned by its citizens.

Out at Route 9, traffic was backed up as all of the residents left their homes, their vehicles full of belongings they could fit inside. The lane headed into town has been blocked off, and several police cruisers had been parked behind them to enforce it. Once all of the citizens had fled town – which took about five hours – Stefan and Matt blocked off the other side of the road, closing off Route 9 completely so that no one could easily enter.

Bonnie didn't help. She didn't want the town to become a ghost town. Yet, that was exactly what it became within those five hours. And Bonnie just couldn't take it anymore. Today alone had been an epic failure of a new beginning: her old friends seemed to hate her, a new one was lit on fire, and her hometown was recklessly abandoned. What worse things would come their way?

* * *

'I have been on a plane with you for _eight_ hours and now you tell me you _met_ our mother months ago?'

Damon was furious. Stefan had received a message in which Caroline explained everything that had happened during and after the attack on the Heretics. Guilt made Stefan's body his own and almost tore him apart. Stefan decided quickly that now was not the time to keep secrets from his brother. So he told him everything.

'Yes', Stefan said.

'And you knew about the Heretics being in Mystic Falls? How stupid can you be, brother? To come looking for me instead of battling our evil mother and her even more evil band of hybrid witches?!'

'I figured with you by my side we could take them down. I didn't know they were going to unleash that much havoc on the town', Stefan admitted.

Damon's anger diminished. 'Don't get all mushy, Stefan. This is really bad. You shouldn't have made that deal. In fact, it's a bad deal!'

Finally, they reached the borders of Mystic Falls. Yet, what they saw astonished all three passengers of Damon's well-known basic 1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible. The road had been blocked and Matt and some other guy were guarding it.

'What is going on?' Damon said furiously and stepped out of this car. 'I know you caught the town off of the outside world, but now you tell me even _I_ can't enter Mystic Falls?'

'Damon, it's not safe for anyone there', Matt said. 'Caroline was almost killed today. We can't take any chances.' Matt took a step out of Damon's way and gestured to enter Mystic Falls. 'Although if you really want to, I won't stop you.'

Damon threw one of his confusing smiles towards Matt and said: 'Thank you, Donovan.'

Damon and Stefan decided to live together with Matt in the big Lockwood Mansion, while Alaric took his car to drive up to Whitmore College. It was time to pick up the pieces again and restart his job as college professor in the occult.

The Salvatore brothers had unpacked their bags in their respective rooms. When Stefan wanted to have a decent talk with Damon, he couldn't find him. Maybe it was because his older brother had left Mystic Falls without telling any others.

Bonnie entered her dorm room after getting some stuff out of her old house and doing some late-night shopping. She found Damon sitting on Elena's bed by himself – the bed that he had shared with his one true love a few times to prove their love for one another. The bed that Elena had slept in before the wedding massacre took place.

'What are you doing here?' Bonnie asked.

'Have you seen Mystic Falls, Bon Bon? There is the possibility of a Heretic clipping his or her gnarly toenails in my luxurious bathtub right now', Damon answered sarcastically. 'I have nowhere else to go since today. Well, I do actually, but I would rather spend this first night with a good friend.'

Bonnie sighed bashfully. She was clearly touched by this confession: he thought she was one of her best friends. She hesitated a moment before she finally spoke: 'You can stay here. I don't think it's a good idea, but you can.'

Damon smiled at his new best friend. Their time stuck in that prison world had benefited the both of them: Bonnie finally stepped up for herself and Damon connected with Bonnie in a way that they never would have if that tragedy didn't happen. _Guess that's the only good thing that came out of that_ , Damon thought.

'You're stuck with me, like I'm stuck with you', Damon stated jokingly. He even gave her a wink.

But Bonnie was again struggling with internal thoughts. Making new friends had backfired, literally. Now, she even blamed herself for something significant.

'The Heretics are out because of me. They almost killed Caroline, Matt and William. And as revenge, they attacked the Mystic Grill. This is my entire fault', Bonnie said sadly.

Damon's face betrayed incredulity. 'No, Bonnie – the Heretics are out because my mother's a _lunatic_ and everyone's too scared to stop her.'

Bonnie, who seemed offended by that statement, replied determinedly: 'I'm not. I want to fight. I want our town back. I'm sick of psychotic people wanting to take it down.'

Bonnie and Damon stared at each other for a long moment and silently came up with a plan. They were going to slowly put a stop to the Heretics and Lily.

 _INSERT SONG: Make Believe – Silversun Pickups_

Malcolm was walking around Mystic Falls. When he suddenly heard a noise behind one of the buildings. He vamp-sped towards the roots of the unexpected sound. What seems to be a homeless young man is scavenging through a dumpster. Malcolm unbuttoned his suit jacket in anticipation.

'Trespassers are free-reign, friend', he menacingly remarked.

Malcolm vamped-out, hissing and baring his fangs at the man aggressively before vamp-speeding towards him. He wanted to bite the black-haired guy's neck, but suddenly he stopped. He heard another sound behind him. A young woman with a petite figure walked towards him. He forgot about the man behind him.

'And you are…?' Malcolm asked.

Bonnie shrugged: 'Town witch.'

Malcolm slowly stalked towards, her, and Bonnie smiled before extending her arms and casting a pain-inflicting spell on him. Malcolm groans in pain for a moment or two before lunging for Bonnie. He grabbed her by the arms, which began to glow as he siphoned magic from her. Bonnie yelped because of the pain. Suddenly, the homeless man revealed itself as Damon. But Malcolm was one step ahead: he let one of Bonnie's arms go, put his left hand up and threw Damon against the wall and then the floor.

'To be fair, you are _nothing_ if I take your magic, _town witch_ ', Malcolm said menacingly.

Malcolm always loved a good comeback. But because of that, Damon quickly got on his feet unnoticed. All of a sudden, it was Malcolms turn again to yelp in pain before crumpling to the ground. Malcolm's heart was held in Damon's hand, having ripped it out through his back. Damon smiled at Bonnie, and Bonnie answered it with one of her own. Their plan had succeeded.

* * *

Elena woke up in a familiar bed. She had seen this bed somewhere before. She remembered something about a girl with a pale complexion, blue-green eyes and medium length blonde, naturally waved hair. The name "Caroline" formed in her head. It was her family's cabin. Caroline's family cabin. The last time she had been here, Stefan and her had shared a secret: the death of Enzo. It had been hard to keep that from her friends, but then she was kidnapped by the Travelers.

A thought dawned on Elena's mind. She would not be that same vulnerable girl again. The Cure had stripped her from vampirism, but that did not mean that she was a weak young woman. In fact, due to Alaric's training before he was turned into an enhanced Original vampire, she had gained a few skills and this could help to get her out of this situation. Or just figuring out what was going on would even be better.

Elena climbed out of the bed and walked towards the door. She grabbed the knob, but it didn't open. She tried banging against it, yet it wouldn't budge. She turned around to look for something she could use. Searching for something like that took about twenty minutes when she miraculously found a hairpin inside one of the drawers.

She quickly went back to the door and attempted to open the door. After five minutes of trying, a click was heard. It was the most satisfying sound Elena had heard in a while. She opened the door to find an attractive young woman with brown eyes and long dark brown hair. She was wearing a long black dress that accentuated her body beautifully. Her face seemed familiar, but Elena couldn't recognize from where. The woman stood upright and smiled at her.

'Well done, Elena', she said. 'You have completed this task.'

Elena was shocked: 'What? Task? This was a task? What for? What is going on? Who are you?'

'I'm Marge. And the rest of your questions will be answered all in good time', Marge said. 'All in good time.'

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

 **NEXT TIME: S07E03 – A Date With Destiny**

DATE EXPECTATIONS – When Andrew asks Caroline out on a date, she becomes weary of his intentions. Evert decides to help her uncover the truth. Bonnie and Damon, on the other hand, work together to stop the Heretics. However, Lily carries out a harsh plan. Meanwhile, trying to find out more about where she is, Elena discovers more than she has bargained for.


	4. A Date With Destiny

Season 7 Episode 3: A Date With Destiny

 **For information about which actor/actress plays a character, look for the episode on my MrInigo1995 Fanfiction wikia.**

* * *

 _Previously on 'The Vampire Diaries': Bonnie woke up from her spell to discover that the Heretics were present in Mystic Falls. She decided to make human friends. Matt and Caroline made a plan to stop them from wreaking more havoc, but that failed miserably as the Mystic Grill was attacked. Stefan told about his meeting with Lillian. As Mystic Falls was evacuated, Damon and Bonnie didn't want their town to be a ghost town which ultimately led to Malcolm's demise. Elena once again found herself in peril, but she did discover a name: Marge._

Stefan and Caroline were boxing up all of the Forbes' house belongings and covering all the furniture with sheets. Caroline had asked for his help after he had packed up his stuff in the Salvatore mansion. Because, with the deal between Lily and the new Sheriff of Mystic Falls, the town still needed protection and security. Trespassers were always bound to exist. College students going into the town because of a dare or a test to prove their bravery, horror fanatics and paranormal hunters who wanted to prove the town was deserted by something else than a mining fire… These were all possibilities and could make them victims of the Heretics.

So Stefan, Damon and Matt were going to stay in the Lockwood mansion while Alaric, Caroline and Bonnie would be at Whitmore College. The male trio would try to protect the town, although Stefan had his doubts about his brother. Yes, he had changed over the years. Especially since he had met Elena and had fallen for her. He had even protected the town from the Travelers. But now that his girlfriend was asleep in a coffin for the next sixty-somewhat years, that could change easily. Stefan was weary of his brother, but he also felt compassion towards him. Damon had spent the entire summer killing vampires in Europe. These vampires had been killing girls who looked like or had a personality that mirrored Elena. _What better way to entertain yourself_ , Stefan thought to himself.

Other thoughts were roaming around in Stefan's head too. He had returned to Mystic Falls after a long search for his brother. So he had left Caroline behind. Now that he was back, it was kind of awkward. Which is of course logical because of his love confession to Caroline just before Alaric and Jo's – sadly - failed wedding. Stefan focused back on the conversation that Caroline and him were having about the new changes to the town.

'I still can't believe that you didn't enlighten us about Lily's family reappearance, Stefan', Caroline said. 'You could have at least done that.'

'I believed that they were going to keep quiet, but I was evidently wrong', Stefan defended himself. 'I'm sorry for that.'

Caroline left it at that. She really didn't want to argue with Stefan. Not after everything that had happened and was said between them. But one thing was creeping up in her soul, something that worried her.

'Are we making a huge mistake handing over our hometown to a bunch of supernatural terrorists?' Caroline asked as a statement.

'Yeah, probably', Stefan shrugged jokingly.

Caroline didn't appreciate that kind of answer. 'Stop!' I'm a control freak giving up control. I'm delicate right now', she pouted.

 _INSERT SONG: Draw Your Swords – Angus and Julia Stone_

Stefan draped one of the sheets over a couch and stared at Caroline. Of course this would be hard on her: leaving this town behind her; the town that her mother had been protecting for almost her entire life. She wouldn't be Caroline if she didn't take this change in the communal weather at heart.

'What would Sheriff Forbes do?' he finally asked.

Caroline thought about that for just a second; she knew exactly what her mom would do. 'She would protect human life at any cost.'

'Then, no, I don't think we're making a mistake', he said, trying to comfort her with these words and thoughts about Caroline's mom.

Caroline sighed. The weight of the loss of her mother was still flowing through her like a never-ending river. 'I thought I would heal from my mom's death', she said. 'I really thought that time would pass, and one day, I would be ready to move on. But, she's my mom, and I'm never gonna stop missing her.' She stared at the ground, not out of abashment, but out of grief.

'Well, that's life, Caroline', Stefan said sympathetically. 'I mean, you can' just sit back and wait for the good parts to happen. But, what you _can_ do is you can forgive yourself for trying to be happy during the bad ones.'

Suddenly, the two of them stared at each other for a long moment until the tension became uncomfortable and Stefan chuckled awkwardly. 'I'm gonna go, uh, board up the front door.' Stefan turned around and headed for the door.

But Caroline called after him to stop him. 'Hey, Stefan?'

Stefan stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and looked at the wonderful blonde vampire. Caroline didn't know what to say at that moment. She had stopped Stefan from leaving the house like that, but she hadn't planned what to say. Finally, some appropriate words formed in her head.

'I'm happy. _You_ make me happy', she said. Caroline noticed that Stefan continued to stare at her hopefully so she nervously began to ramble. 'But uh… uh, my best friend's gone, my mom's dead… the whole town is destroyed. When I'm with you, I _am_ happy. But for now, I just can't give into it… I just can't handle a relationship right now.'

Stefan, like always, understood where Caroline was coming from. He nodded, didn't say a word and made motions to leave her. But he wanted to say something before that; he wanted to make something clear. 'I perfectly understand, Caroline. Like I said, I will wait.'

* * *

Beau was looking in the foyer mirror and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt to reveal a very deep scar on his neck which extended to his collar bone in the shape of a cross. He frowned as he ran his fingers across the scar tissue as Valerie came up behind him. She looked in his eyes with the use of the mirror.

'You shouldn't hide your scar, Beau. You're a survivor. Be _proud'_ , she said kindly.

Beau buttoned his shirt again. Just then, the door to the Salvatore house burst open, and Mary Louise and Nora come in with Malcolm's body in their arms, the body clearly missing a vital part: the heart.

'Valerie! Beau!' Mary Louise yelled.

'It's Malcolm!' Nora added.

'Help!' Mary Louise continued. 'He's dead!'

Beau and Valerie ran over to where Mary Louise and Nora had deposited Malcolm's body on a chair. The sight of their fellow group member being dead shocked all of them.

'Oh, my god!' Valerie said, horrified. 'Malcolm!' If she could have helped, Valerie would have done so in a heartbeat. Yes, Malcolm had been an obnoxious, pious person, but that didn't mean that he should have died.

Mary Louise began to explain: 'We found him in town. He was just lying there.' Her eyes were so big. She realized that Malcolm was gone forever.

Nora realized something too. 'Oh, god. Don't let Lily see this', she said anxiously, worried about their leader and mother of their Heretic family.

Unfortunately for Nora, Lily just then appeared in the doorway, having heard commotion downstairs. She looked at them wide eyed. She noticed Malcolm's body.

'Malcolm?' she asked, like he would suddenly wake up and answer her. She rushed over to them, not wanting to believe that he was gone now. 'No. No! No!' she said with much distraught. When she saw that his skin was desiccated to the point of no return, she started to break down, crying over his body as she caressed his face. She sobbed: 'Oh! Oh, sweetheart. My sweet boy.' She suddenly looked up at the others, desperately overwhelmed, looking for an explanation. 'Who took him from us? Who did this?'

Nora, Mary Louise, Beau and Valerie looked at Lily with sadness in their eyes, but remained silent. Lily, obviously heartbroken, continued to sob over Malcolm's body. But something was brewing beneath those tears: a plan for revenge.

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

 _INSERT SONG: Young Blood – The Naked & Famous_

Matt and William were on patrol in town again. They had been for about an hour now, but nothing had happened. The two of them were glad because of that. Enough drama, disaster and death had taken place in Mystic Falls. The town had become an epicenter for dreadful events. It had come to an end now. But Matt didn't trust those Heretics; not for one bit. Only two or three people had entered Mystic Falls. Obviously, they had not survived this as Ethan had helped them to bury the bodies.

The newly members of the police force had seen the closed-off border of Mystic Falls from the inside earlier. They were about to pass the police station when a young woman in police uniform started motioning towards them. Matt stopped the car and the two of them stepped outside of it.

'Hi', the young woman said. 'I'm Cleo Mitchell. I just joined the police force.'

She was a cute round-faced girl. She eyed the two of them and eventually winked, just a quick flutter of her lashes towards Matt, and he smiled back, feeling oddly happy. She was too cute. Little dimples showed in her cheeks when she smiled, and her long blonde hair fell beautifully in curls.

'Hey, I'm Matt Donovan, newest deputy', Matt said, grinning back at her.

William, feeling a little left out, introduced himself after that: 'William Duncan, nice to meet you.'

The doors from the police building opened and Ethan came through them. He jovially went down the white stairs and joined his newly formed trinity of protection.

'I see you introduced yourself already, Cleo', Ethan said, his voice dripped from kindness towards this young woman. He had a loving look in his eyes. 'This is my stepdaughter.' He threw this sentence towards the male portion of the protection trinity. 'She has joined the police force. I know this may seem a little strange, being my family and all, but I couldn't just trust anybody, especially in this town. And I know I can trust you three. Together we can keep the peace in this town. Hopefully the citizens will return soon, but for now, we can make sure that nothing happens to their homes.'

'Let's hope that those Heretics will not do much damage in the meantime', Cleo said. 'Hopefully it will not come to a disastrous event like that Founder's Day in 2009.'

In that moment Matt knew that underneath the beauty of this young woman, a knowledge of quite an extent was hidden. He was also surprised by how much Ethan had filled her in about the town's history. Yet he also questioned if she knew about the supernatural stuff that was interwoven with all those strange happenings, "random" killings and found bodies. 'You know about all that?'

Cleo nodded. 'I know about everything. Ethan told me everything about this town. And just being mindful of the fact that I was just a few hours away when all that happened.'

'A few hours away?' William curiously asked. 'Where did you live?'

'I graduated from Whitmore College a few months ago', Cleo answered. 'In fact, my stepdad is going to deliver some books to the Whitmore Library this afternoon. I had forgotten about them; thought that I had already brought them in.'

'So I expect you three to keep a good eye on the town. I can count on that?' Ethan demanded, it was obviously not an actual question.

'Of course!' the three of them chanted.

* * *

Caroline was sitting on the couch in the commons area. Some nice music was playing; Holding Out For A Hero, the song by Bonnie Tyler, covered by Ella Mae Bowen. She took a few sips of her forest fruit tea while she also wrote in her diary. She paused for a moment to put the teacup back on the coffee table. She started to read what she had written for now: _Dear Elena, when you wake up, Mystic Falls will look nothing like you remember it. We made up a story – a mining fire in the tunnels under the town to cover up the deaths of a few Mystic Falls citizens. Once again, lying about these things is necessary. The Mystic Grill is practically destroyed again, and rebuilding it won't happen anytime soon. We told the town that with out of control fires, lethal carbon monoxide levels and the works, it would be a better idea to evacuate. Some needed more persuasion then others aka compulsion._

Caroline thought about what she wanted to write now. It didn't take long. She continued with this: _Why the evacuation? Why was the Mystic Grill even attacked? Because of Stefan's mother and her Heretic family; they're back. And their magic keeps them protected. Matt, William – you remember him, right? – and I were trying to stop them, but it backfired obviously. They're faster and stronger than any of us, and they were willing to tear our town apart for their own entertainment. So we just had to protect it._ Caroline knew that Elena would agree with this. Her best friend would do anything to protect those people they knew while growing up.

The blonde vampire's hand was starting to tingle from all the writing. Yet, she wanted to finish this topic for Elena. She had promised her to write everything down, and she _would_ do exactly that. _Lily thought her family was ready to live among humans. She was awfully wrong. The truth is, their impulsive nature put every citizen in this town in danger, so the new Sheriff – he's called Ethan btw – negotiated a deal with Lily. We got time to clear out the residents, and in return, anyone who trespassed was fair game for the Heretics. It was a lot of work: drove out businesses, boarded up homes, closed off the town to traffic… We all gave up a lot to get Lily to agree, especially Stefan who has given up the Salvatore boarding house._

One final thought entered Caroline's mind. She felt that Elena needed to know that too: _We hate them, they hate us. But now, at the very least, we have a truce. Whether we like it or not, we'll share our town. We'll live side-by-side with our enemies for as long as it takes. But I wonder how long this truce will last._

'Hey, there', a person said.

Caroline almost jumped up from the couch in vamp speed, but she resisted the urge to do that. Thank god, because when she looked at who was the messenger, she identified him as Andrew. His blond hair and green eyes betrayed his identity.

'Hi', she greeted him. 'What are you doing here?' Caroline turned the music down.

'I enrolled here. I didn't know you did too', Andrew explained. 'Nice finding you here.'

'I agree', Caroline said. She stood up from the couch. 'I hope you will enjoy it here.' She picked up her bag when she realized what time it was. 'But I have to go, sorry. I'm already late for my drama class.' She started to make her way towards the door.

'Wait!' Andrew stood in front of her within a few seconds. 'I've actually wanted to ask you something ever since I met you.' The situation turned from a random meeting to an awkward one. His right hand dove into his pocket and the other was going through his hair. 'I wanted to ask you out on a date.'

Caroline was suddenly alarmed. She had learned from the past that everyone had their own agenda. And maybe Andrew's agenda was indeed just asking her out, but there was always something else behind someone's motives. She also didn't want to let Stefan down. Caroline loved Stefan and he loved her, but the relationship between them had reached a state in which weirdness was all around. Stefan was connected to everything in her past, what especially mattered to her was his connection with her mother.

Either way, Caroline didn't know what to answer. She didn't have much time to figure out what to say either, because someone else entered the room: Enzo. He sat down on the couch. Caroline turned to him and rolled her eyes.

'This whole stalker-thing is not even remotely charming', she said. Meanwhile, Andrew looked at suspiciously at the newcomer. The male vampire didn't even give him the time of day. Caroline advised Andrew to wait for her outside. Andrew resisted at first, but he noticed that there was something going on and so he went outside.

'Not even if I'm here to tell you something important?' Enzo asked mysteriously. He intended to entice Caroline's patience and curiosity. 'So, word on the street is that one of Lily's magical elves lost his heart in Mystic Falls.'

'What?' Caroline exclaimed with horror.

'You didn't know?' Enzo said, surprised by her reaction. He paused for a moment to question his future intentions. He quickly continued: 'Yeah, someone killed Malcolm near the town square. I believe he was her eldest, if you get what I mean.'

'Well, who killed him?' Caroline was upset. 'Because we had a deal…'

Enzo interrupted her: 'Trust is a fickle thing, Goldilocks. I am here to let you in on a little secret.' He winked at her and moved his index finger to make it clear to Caroline that she needed to come closer. 'The deal is over.' Enzo suddenly pulled out a syringe that contained vervain and wanted to stab Caroline in the neck with it.

Damon, who vamp-sped towards him and knocked him across the room, stopped him. He immediately went to Enzo's landing spot, took the black haired head in hands and snapped the neck. That would take him out for a while.

'It was you, wasn't it?' Caroline figured out. 'You killed Malcolm. They found him near the town square without a heart.

'Oh, did she want that back?' Damon said sarcastically. 'I mean, I think I packed it somewhere, alright?'

This angered Caroline. 'You know that there was a deal, _right_?'

Damon scoffed: 'Yeah, a _bad_ deal.'

'Well, because of that "bad deal", I was nearly kidnapped by Enzo. _This_ is bad, Damon. Really bad.'

'What's happening?' Andrew came back inside and looked around. Thankfully, Enzo's body was out of visibility.

Caroline immediately said: 'Nothing! By the way, I'll think about it, Andrew. I'll let you know within an hour.' She pushed him towards the door. 'I'll see you later.'

Andrew had a puzzled look on his face. He was battling between staying with Caroline or just listening to her. After a few seconds, he finally decided to listen to this new girl he met and he left.

'I'll be in the library', he said.

Caroline watched him leave as he made his way towards the library. She wondered if Andrew's intentions were good for a second time. She bit her lip, but she herself didn't even realize it.

However something interrupted her thinking… Actually someone. 'What did he ask you?' Damon demanded.

Caroline's attention to Andrew broke and she locked eyes with Damon. She noticed how he was going to wait literally forever for her answer. So she did, as honest as she could.

'He asked me out on a date—' Caroline began, but was interrupted.

'Oh, trouble in paradise for my little brother?' Damon said, with a smug on his face.

Caroline tilted her head, folded her arms and her lips turned into a thin line of disapproval. 'Do you want me to finish or not?' It definitely sounded like Damon should shut up, so he did while lifting his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. Caroline continued: 'I'm not sure of his intentions. When it comes to meeting new people, we always have to be careful. Remember professor Shane, or as you liked to call him professor Shady Pants? And that's just one of all the people that came into town or into our lives who ended up having an ulterior motive!'

'True', Damon said, as if this is what he had expected to hear all along.

'That's right!' another male voice agreed with the two of them.

Another figure stood in the doorway. He practically filled it with his height of 6'2''. It was Ethan, the new Sheriff of Mystic Falls. He had nice dark hair. He smiled warmly as he stretched out his hand toward Caroline and Damon. Caroline suspiciously shook hands with this new guy – same rules applied for a Sheriff, right? – and Damon rolled his eyes before finally doing the same thing. They introduced themselves to Ethan as he did.

'I'm the new Sheriff, Evert Ethan Crane. But everyone just calls me Ethan. I prefer it that way', he said. 'My stepdaughter just joined the police force back in Mystic Falls. I had to deliver some books back for her. I was going to ask directions to the library,' he paused for a moment when he noticed Enzo's body on the floor, 'but I think there are some pressing matters here.' He checked the Englishman's face and quickly concluded something: 'This is one of those Heretic guys, right? Matt has told me all about them.'

Caroline sighed. 'Yes, but he is not a Heretic. He's an ordinary vampire.'

'Like you two.' It wasn't a question, it was an elucidation of a fact.

'Yes', Caroline finally said. Somehow, she felt like she could trust this guy. _After all, the police force must have some test to deduce if there is a serial killer, maniac, or professor Shady Pants behind someone's façade_ , she thought.

'Look, I'm not gonna lie. I overheard what you said: if you don't trust that guy, I'll help you to check up on him', Ethan proposed. 'In return, you can simply show me the way to the library.' His eyes made it clear that he thought of something else in that instant. 'Also, I won't hurt you. If you are friends of Matt, than I know that you are trying to protect the town just as much as I am.'

Damon chuckled. 'Are you serious? How can _we_ trust _you_? Just because you work with Donovan it doesn't mean that we instantly trust you. In fact, that should make the alarm bells chime.'

'Damon', Caroline began, pulled him aside and started to whisper, 'I think he can be trusted, but getting the chance to see if Andrew is hiding something, isn't that big of a deal. Not many stakes are at risk here.'

'Unless he decides to plunge two of them in both of our hearts', the dark haired vampire implied. But he sighed after a split second: 'I guess it wouldn't be bad to see if this new blackleg that is poaching on Stefan's preserves has some evil diabolical plan.'

'Great', Caroline exclaimed. 'Then it's all settled.'

* * *

Stefan was driving down the abandoned streets of one of Mystic Falls' residential areas as he left Caroline a voicemail.

'Hey, Caroline… haven't heard from you. I just wanted to fill you in on the fact that no bodies have been found. Not exactly what I wanted to talk about, but uh…' He reassured himself and dug into a new piece of information. 'I talked to Matt earlier and some young woman has joined the police force. So I think that the safety of this town is practically guaranteed. But, uh, give me a call.'

He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket, but when he looked back up at the road, he saw a man in the middle of the road. He slammed the brakes to avoid running him over. Stefan recognized this man: Beau, a member of his mother's lovely family. He looked like a scary, solemn yet dangerous man. Beau was glaring at Stefan who got out to see what he wanted.

'Can I help you…?' Stefan asked, being confused by the man's silence.

Beau remained silent which made Stefan nervous. After a moment, Stefan rolled his eyes.

'It's okay. I speak mute', he said sarcastically. 'Just communicate what you want with a series of grunts, hmms, or…'

Beau, unamused, casted a spell that created a high-frequency noise that caused Stefan to fall to his knees. He clutched his head in pain and screamed. It was then that Lily appeared behind her youngest son.

'You'll have to excuse Beau—he's not in the mood for glib jokes. None of us are, actually', Lily seriously said. She looked at Beau, who reluctantly released Stefan from the effects of the spell. They both continued to glare at Stefan as he got back on his feet. 'I thought we had a deal, Stefan.'

Stefan was annoyed. Was this really why they did this? 'Yeah, we do. Otherwise, I would be at home, not out patrolling the streets to keep humans out of your minions' fangs.'

Lily's eyes narrowed and she replied bitterly: 'We found Malcolm in the town square last night, his heart removed.'

Stefan's eyes widened in surprise, which led Lily to realize he wasn't involved.

'You didn't know', she stated.

'No, I didn't, because we didn't do it', Stefan said, certain of this. Although, as each second passed, he became more uncertain about that statement.

'I'm not here to blame you, Stefan', Lily tackled back after a sigh escaped her lips. 'I came so you'd understand why we're doing this.'

Stefan growled. 'What are you up to?'

Beau immediately casted the same spell again which made Stefan lower onto his knees again. Eventually, the pain became too much. Blackness appeared in dots in front of his eyes and they merged with each other until there was nothing left to see.

* * *

Elena had awoken again. This time, the door had just been open. When she had searched for something to eat, she had found a fridge full of delicious food. There even were little dessert dishes filled with glasses of chocolate butter cream, vanilla yogurt, and other things of seven minutes in sweets-heaven. After that, she began to think of a way out. She was still doing that when Marge arrived.

'Hello, Elena', she said. 'How are you feeling today?' Her eyes were full of honesty, friendliness and compassion. But Elena didn't feel all that. After all, she was being held prisoner in the cabin of one of her friends' family.

'Great, real great. Like "Orange is the New Black" great', Elena answered. She stood up from her chair and placed her hands on the table in front of her. 'Will you finally tell me what the hell is going on?'

'I actually wanted you to meet a friend of mine, Elena.' Marge showed Elena the door and Elena looked at it, waiting for someone to enter. Another beautiful young woman – where did all these women come from? – entered the room. She was a small olive-toned woman with a long braid of black hair bobbing against her back. Yet her height seemed to hide an excessive amount of power.

'Are you a witch?' Elena asked abruptly.

Marge smiled politely at her. 'She is not a witch, I can assure you of that. Ryanna is going to show you some things a few miles away from here.'

Elena became instantly suspicious. She gazed at the two young adults standing in front of her and she had an epiphany. Yet, her expression remained the same. She could make an attempt to escape.

'Okay', she said.

Marge wasn't surprised by her answer, neither was Ryanna who hadn't said a word since she had walked into the cabin. 'I'm glad you are enthusiastic about this, Elena. I'm sure you will have a good time.'

 _I doubt that_ , Elena thought.

Once Elena went outside with Ryanna, leaving Marge behind, she hesitated to get into the car that was standing there. Escaping from a car was very dangerous, especially now that she was human again. Ryanna, whose visage practically said that she was not taking a no for an answer, made movements to get Elena inside the car.

Inside, she acted like was wearing a seat belt. She doubted if this Ryanna-woman even wore a seat belt or locked her doors or anything like that. She prayed that she had other matters on his mind.

'Where are we going?' she said as Ryanna got into the car.

'No talking!' the olive-toned woman insisted.

'Okay', Elena said. 'By the way, be careful; this road twists and turns sometimes.'

Ryanna looked like the person who always wanted to show she had the control of the situation. Exactly what Elena had counted on, even had hoped for, was the outcome. Ryanna hit the accelerator and they shot out of the clearing at a very high speed. The sharp turns were taken faster than Caroline's parents had ever driven through here; faster than anyone had dared to go. When she was a passenger of course.

Elena was on the lookout for the sudden curve in the road. This plan had formed in her head: she would jump out of the car, no matter how badly she could get hurt, and make her way out of here. Maybe she could reach a phone or something. Hopefully, she didn't snap her neck on impact. That thought roamed around her head for a great while. Or so it seemed.

As Ryanna rounded the curve, Elena pulled the handle and pushed open the door as hard as she could with her hands while she kicked it as hard as she could with her feet. The door swung open, quickly being caught by centrifugal force, as were Elena's legs. As was Elena.

Her kick alone took her halfway out of the car. Ryanna tried to grab her and got only a handful of hair. For a moment Elena thought she would keep her in. But that did not happen. She tumbled over and over in the air, floating, remaining about two feet off the ground, reaching out to grab fronds, branches of bushes, anything she could use to slow her velocity.

Eventually she did hit the ground. She did her best to twist in the air, to take the impact on her buttock or the back of a shoulder, but something went painfully wrong. Her left heel hit first – Ouch! – and tangled, swinging her around completely, slamming her knee into a stone partially hidden by sand. Suddenly she felt her right arm as if it was driven out of its socket. The wind was knocked out of her by the first blow and she was forced to hiss after that.

A few seconds had passed as she looked at what had happened. At first she looked at her skinned hands in bewilderment; they couldn't have left such a gory trail of blood. They hadn't. One knee had been skinned right through her jeans and one seriously messed up leg, less bloody, but causing her to feel pain like lighting. Even while she was not trying to move it. There was no time to find out more about her shoulder as she heard the sound of brakes. She ordered her legs to run into the forest.

And so she did, painfully. Her right leg had obeyed first, but the left one made her see fireworks behind her eyes. She tried to continue, but couldn't. She noticed a stick on the ground and immediately grabbed for it. Elena tucked it under her left arm and somehow managed to reach the forest. She had not heard Ryanna behind her yet, but she was not waiting for that to happen. Hopefully, she would have the chance to disappear in the forest.

* * *

Damon was laying lazily on the couch in the Lockwood mansion. He had been there for about twenty minutes after he left Whitmore College behind him. Caroline decided to travel with the Sheriff to Mystic Falls too as most information would be found on the computers there. The black haired vampire had debated to come with them or not, but eventually decided not to. Not to come with them, that is. He drove down to his old-time hometown ten minutes after the duo left. Now, relaxation was all he needed, especially after his and Bonnie's little trip. Bonnie was safely back at Whitmore after their little killing yesterday evening, following classes as a usual college kid.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He brought it out of his pocket; he was agitated because he wanted to enjoy this day. But agitation was soon replaced by shock as he looked at what he had received. Stefan had sent a picture, but it was clear that Stefan didn't take the picture. Someone had taken Stefan's phone, took a picture of him hanging by the ceiling with his hands and dropped it in a message towards Damon. Stefan was definitely in pain: he was suspended from the ceiling from his wrists, which had been chained together and to the rafters. He concluded that it would probably be Lily or one of her Heretics – or altogether – who sent this clear threat to him. And he knew why: to retaliate for breaking that bad deal. _But my brother isn't the one who did it…_ , he thought.

It didn't take long before he set course to the boarding house. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. Lily was the one who opened the front door of the Salvatore house to find Damon standing on the doorstep with a sly smile.

'Hello, mother', he greeted her.

'May I help you?' she asked coldly.

Damon looked over her shoulder, to see if any Heretics were present behind her. But no such luck. He did find an unfamiliar woman vacuuming the foyer.

'Couple things', Damon began. 'A) Who the hell is that?'

Lily turned around to glance at the woman before facing Damon again.

'Lucy? She's the kind woman I've hired to clean up this house that you let fall into disrepair', Lily stated. She raised her voice to talk to Lucy, but didn't take her eyes off of Damon. 'Oh, Lucy, darling, could you come clean the welcome mat, please? This man was just leaving.'

Damon smiled and exasperatedly said: 'B) I'm _not_.'

'Excuse me?' Lily was unamused.

'I think there's been a bit of a mix-up. See, last night, I was in the town square, minding my own business, when I tripped and ripped Malcolm's heart out.' The everlasting Damon-smirk was still directed at his mother.

Lily rolled her eyes with anger. 'Deflecting. Of course. You never could admit when you were wrong.' She wanted to slam the door in his face, but Damon stopped her.

'Okay, wait… I admit it. I killed him. In cold blood, just like that', he snapped with his fingers, 'Stefan has nothing do to with it. No one has something to do with it. So if you'll just kindly let him go.'

The door creaked so Lily could see her oldest son in full again. 'Malcolm was a very powerful Heretic, Damon. I have a hard time believing you acted alone.' Her voice spoke out of suspicion.

'Well, I'm pretty awesome', Damon shrugged. 'In fact, so awesome that I'm such a better hostage than my brother, so if you'll just swap us out…'

'I'm afraid my family finds you much less awesome than you do', Lily simply replied. She once again tried to shut the door, and Damon, desperate to get Stefan back, attempted to stop her.

'Wait! Lily! Lily!' He tried to run into the house to catch up with her, only to be blocked at the threshold. His eyes narrowed in confusion and suspicion. 'That's odd. Why can't I walk into my own house?'

'Because this is no longer your house, and I have the deed to prove it', Lily said coldly. She ran her fingers over a large stack of papers that have binder-clipped together on the side table. Damon looked perceptively over there. 'Now, if you don't mind, I have to get ready to go bury my son.' Lily shut the door in Damon's face, leaving him overwhelmed by this new information.

Only one person could solve this overwhelming feeling of desperation: Bonnie. After the long drive, he finally arrived back at Whitmore College. He started to look for her all around the campus. He finally found her in the cafeteria, eating a deliciously looking dish of pasta. Bonnie had seen him as soon as he walked in.

'Hey', she said when he reached her table. 'What have you been up to?'

Damon dug right in: 'Trying to save Stefan.'

'What?' Bonnie exclaimed, clearly surprised by this answer.

Damon explained everything to her. All the while, Bonnie had a serious look on her face. This expression was accompanied by the sheer entry of revenge. The vampire noticed this. He finalized by saying that he had offered himself, but that Lily had declined.

'Looks like nobody wants you around, do they?' Bonnie said with a grin.

'Very funny, Bon Bon', Damon replied. 'Look, I know who owns the house now. It's that new housekeeper that they keep. I just want to get her outside of the house, kill said person, storm the castle and save this male damsel that is my brother.' He collapsed on the nearest chair with a smile.

Bonnie eyed him: 'Are you actually enjoying this? We have to do something about this, I know that. But killing that woman isn't the answer. In fact, let's put it in the "not even considering" category.'

'See, I've got sixty years to kill', Damon said with a shrug. 'Having an enemy, a nemesis, a maniacal villain with maniacal villain motives? That's not exactly the worst distraction in the world.'

Bonnie sighed as she added: 'I'm not disagreeing with you. We need to stop those Heretics, and now that they have Stefan, we can retaliate back. We really need to put a stop to them. Our town has endured too much to just hand it over to a bunch of vampiric Siphoners. This needs to end. Now!'

Damon, a tad surprised by her reaction, had an idea: 'Maybe I can suggest something.'

* * *

The pain was making it really hard to resist a scream. But a grunt escaped Stefan's lips. Those ropes, which were drained in vervain, burned his skin. He had had enough of it. Ever since he was brought in here and had woken up, he had seen almost every Heretic. One Heretic, Oscar apparently, had been sent to retrieve something, and one other girl whose name sounded familiar. The others he had met. Beau had beaten him by a spell. Nora and Mary Louise had tortured him with pleasure; taunted him with the fact that he might never see his precious Caroline again. Then the deceased Malcolm; he had been cremated by the others with the help of magic.

Stefan finally let out a scream in agony when he heard footsteps coming up. Someone entered his bedroom and stood still when the person crossed the doorway. He looked up to see who was there. He didn't really have anything else to do. He would rather just ignore them, but he felt like this person needed a dirty look. A look of pure misery and fiery rage was thrown towards his mother and her Heretics.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Before him stood an attractive young woman with blue eyes and long, blonde-brown hair. She appeared not to wear much makeup and wore something tomboyish, but with some accessories added. He knew this girl all too well. He didn't expect to see her again after all those years. He believed she had died. But now he remembered. He even could retell what he had written about her for the first time in his journal. He had written about the strangest encounter outside the county fair. He had met a girl. Though they only spoke for a moment, he knew her name and thought of her as the most wonderful girl he had ever met.

'Valerie?' he said in disbelieve.

'Hello, Stefan', she said, with the smile that he had gotten to recognize back in 1863.

 _FLASHBACK + INSERT SONG: Breathe Me - Sia_

 _The county fair was underway near Mystic Falls, and the fairgrounds were full of people. Stefan, dressed in a fine day suit, is sitting on a bench and writing in his journal when Valerie, wearing the traditional day gown of the time period, approached him._

 _'You have to move', Valerie said._

 _'Excuse me?' Stefan was confused. He narrowed his eyes and closed his journal._

 _She smiled at him in response. 'Your sad mood is spoiling the fun for everyone!'_

 _Both of them laughed in amusement, clearly starting to get comfortable with each other's company._

 _'I'm Valerie Tulle', she introduced herself._

 _'Stefan Salvatore. Are you new to town?'_

 _'Just passing through.'_

 _'I hope not too fast', Stefan said with a heartwarming smile._

 _Valerie, surprised by his kindness and smiled back at him. This seemed to be the beginning of a nice encounter._

 _END FLASHBACK_

Lily entered the room now. 'Good morning.' She looked at how her youngest hung from the ceiling and shook her head. 'This could've gone so differently, Stefan. Especially now that you're reunited with your first love.'

Stefan looked from his mother at Valerie. He grew suspicious of the entire scenery. 'What are you doing, actually? How come Valerie is one of your Heretics? That's not possible. She wasn't a psychotic abomination. And tell your spoiled brats to stop harassing people.'

Lily calmly spoke: 'Of course. As soon as you tell your brother to stop killing said spoiled abominations.'

Stefan struggled to resist the pain, to numb it, but it was getting harder and harder with each breath. 'How do you know Valerie?' he asked Lily, but he didn't really expect an answer from her so he directed another question at Valerie. 'How do you know my mother?'

Valerie was about to answer, but Lily was suddenly ahead of her. 'I knew Valerie years before you did. She worked in my TB ward. After I turned, I took her under my wing. If memory serves me, you didn't meet her until 1863.'

'How do you know when I met her?'

'Because, Stefan…' Lily began.

Valerie, who was sick of Lily speaking for her part, interrupted her. 'She sent me to you.'

Stefan, astonished by this slowly revealed information, let his eyes drift towards the floor. He finally arranged his thoughts and came up with the urgent question: 'Why did you send Valerie to me?'

Lily looked at her son, her piercing eyes locking with the gaze of Stefan's. 'To check on you', was Lily's answer. 'Like any mother longing for her children, I was in a black hole of depression.' She noticed Stefan's skeptical expression, but Lillian just shot him a stern look. 'Yes, Stefan, I'm more than the cold-hearted snake you and your brother wish me to be. It took me a _long_ time to get over losing you.' She sighed before she continued her story. 'Anyway, I had been invited to travel to Europe with a… a vampire gentleman-friend of mine, but I refused to leave until I knew that my boys were okay.'

'Heh!' Stefan exclaimed with a chuckle. 'A gentleman-friend? You had a _boyfriend_?'

'His name was Julian', Lily said, ignoring the chuckle and humor hidden inside Stefan's words. Yet, Stefan continued to chuckle, which made Lily blush. 'What? You're acting as if that's absurd.'

'Well, your first husband shot and killed his own sons, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't trust your type.'

Lily's smile fell from her face, and she was visibly offended by this insinuation. Her mouth turned into a thin line of disapproval, her eyes into a frozen lake of blue. Her reply was sudden: 'Julian was _nothing_ like your father.'

'No?' Stefan said sarcastically. 'What was he? A nebbishy banker? Town butcher, perhaps?'

Lily sighed: 'Julian was the man you are not supposed to fall for. So, of course, I did…'

 _FLASHBACK_

 _The county fair was still in full swing, and a well-dressed blonde man, Julian was running a kissing booth where women can pay two pennies, which would be donated to the Confederate Army, to kiss him. He dipped one of his customers as he kissed her, and when he broke away and helped the woman upright, she gasped and fanned herself. Julian then turned to the crowd to address them._

 _'For the soldiers!' Julian yelled, and the crowd cheered for him. 'Have your tickets ready, ladies! The men on the battlefield need us.' He smiled at the crowd, looking at a nearby woman who had come up to kiss him._

 _'Hello', he said quietly._

 _Julian's smile faded when he saw Valerie and Stefan sitting together on a nearby bench. Valerie tossed a piece of popcorn at Stefan, who tried to catch it in his mouth, but it missed and landed on the ground next to him._

 _'You have to hold still! It will be delicious, I promise.' Valerie said, and she tossed a piece of popcorn at him again, but he just barely missed it, and the two laughed. Just then, Julian approached them, looking displeased._

 _'Oh, ho ho ho! Aren't we lady-like?' Julian said._

 _Valerie's face changed rapidly and unexpectedly from fun to serious when she saw him. A handsome man with blond hair and a muscular build. He was clean-shaven and had short hair. Julian was nice to look at, very nice actually. But Valerie feared this man. He was pure charisma. Or pure creep, depending on whom you would ask._

 _'Stefan, meet Julian', Valerie uttered._

 _Stefan was eager to make a good impression and stood to shake Julian's hand. 'Your daughter and I were just appreciating the scientific wonder of gravitational force.' The blonde Salvatore chuckled nervously, but Julian just looked at him condescendingly._

 _'Hmm… How wise you must sound to less intelligent men', was Julian's reply._

 _Valerie, visibly worried, stood to try to mediate the situation. She explained that Julian is not her father. Stefan was embarrassed and apologized for his assumption. Julian cut him off instantly with a rude remark about his incorrectness. He also gave Valerie a significant look._

 _'Valerie, darling… a word?' Julian didn't wait for her to agree; he just grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside, much to Valerie's displeasure._

 _'You're wrinkling my dress, Julian!' Valerie said quietly._

 _'What are you doing?' Julian angrily spoke._

 _'Lily sent us here to get a sense of his mood…' Valerie began._

 _'Exactly', Julian interrupted again. 'His_ mood _, not his manhood. Remember, his mother gave_ very strict _instructions for us to keep our distance. Do not displease her.'_

 _Valerie gave him a look: 'I have everything under control.'_

 _END FLASHBACK_

'Before you suggest that I compelled you to love me, I have one thing to say to you: I'm not that Katherine Pierce-girl! Maybe it's easier for you to comprehend it like that, but I wasn't a vampire back then. Just a witch, rejected from her coven for being an abomination of nature because I had no power of my own. The only magic I had was contained in an amulet, to be siphoned in times of need', Valerie explained.

During Valerie's explanation, Lily had left the room. Stefan had overheard them planning a funeral. Nora entered the room in a very nice funeral dress. He recognized it; it was once Elena's dress. She had worn it to Jenna's funeral. 'Chop, chop. Let's go. Lily's waiting', she said.

'Okay, I'll be there. I need to get dressed too', Valerie said.

* * *

Caroline was entering the pub at Whitmore College. She had spent hours searching for leads on different Andrews in the police system, but nothing had come up that even remotely looked like the Andrew Caroline had met. So they had come up with a plan: Caroline would go on the date with a wire and ask questions, while Ethan would search for his history. So Caroline had chosen a nice dress to wear and hid the wire very well.

Caroline noticed Andrew sitting by one of the tables that was certainly meant for dates. She shrugged her shoulders, talked valor into herself and put on a smile. After all, bravery could be helpful; Andrew could be anyone or anything.

'Andrew', Caroline greeted him as she reached the table. 'How have you been the past hours?'

'Good. Although the situation in that common area was really weird, though', Andrew admitted honestly. 'Still, I'm glad you called. I thought you were going to ditch me.'

'I would never ditch someone', Caroline said. She took off her jacket and hung it on the chair. She sat down and laid her arms across each other, as if to let Andrew see she was interested in everything he had to say. In reality, she was. But not in the same way as he would think. Her eyes caught him looking funnily at her. 'What?' she asked.

Andrew smiled, it was handsomely crooked: 'You just look… beautiful.'

Caroline began to blush. She really wanted to believe that this guy was one of the good ones. But life had taught her that more people became bad. Or was that just a pessimistic thought? She was normally an optimistic girl. When did that change? After she switched it off? Before? Maybe after she learned that one of her best friends was in a magically-induced coma? She didn't know. What she did know, was that the guy on the other side of the table was waiting for a reply.

'Thank you', she said, looking down at the table.

Andrew smiled again and called for a waiter. He let Caroline order first – she took a nice cocktail; one couldn't hurt her, especially as a vampire self – and then he made an order – mineral water. He also asked to give the check to him. They talked about Caroline's life for the first bit. Caroline was sure that this would lure him out; that would help bring down the façade. After the waiter had delivered the drinks, Andrew took a hold of her hands.

'I've been asking a lot of question, haven't I?' Andrew said. 'Why don't you ask some?'

 _Bingo_ , Caroline thought. _I got him._ She immediately began to ask questions about his studies. Apparently, he was studying parapsychology. He had loved paranormal phenomenon ever since he became a teen. He had invested time to read about things like telepathy, ghosts, dimensions, even magic. Caroline's suspicion grew when she heard all this. Last time someone had studied parapsychology, it was the Nutty Professor Shane.

'I can predict your future even if you want too', Andrew said. 'Do you want me to, Caroline?'

She smiled at him, a fake one, but a smile nonetheless. She eagerly put out her hand in this act and said: 'It would be my pleasure to hear it from you.' She winked at him.

Andrew, smiling too, grabbed her hand. A jolt of electricity raced through Caroline's veins. This was the sort of sensation she had when she was in a relationship with a guy. Or just in love with a guy. Just like she had felt with Matt and Tyler. Just like she was feeling now with Stefan. But in this moment also with Andrew. The suspicion from before grew again, but this time she was suspicious of herself. She wanted to be truthful to Stefan. They were not in a relationship yet, but she really wanted to be in one with the kindest vampire she had ever met. The electric feeling caused her to drop the act for a while and Andrew gripped her hand tighter.

'Caroline, I can say something about your future… The closest future possible', Andrew revealed.

Caroline was alarmed again; she snapped out of this daydream and stared at him. 'What do you see?' she asked coyly.

He crooked a finger of his other hand to tell her to come closer. Caroline, in a seductive mode, came closer to his face by leaning over the table a little. As an aspiring actress, showcasing seduction would be a pivotal part in her acting career.

Andrew traced his fingers across the blonde's hand. He was really delicate with it. 'I predict that you will see…', he paused for a moment there, 'what kind of guy I really am, Caroline.' Caroline was startled by this comment, but he gripped her hand tighter and simply continued. 'My full name is Andrew Montez. Look that up, Ethan. I bet you will find some interesting stuff about me.'

* * *

It was pitch dark. Elena had walked for hours, but still didn't find a road. She was getting tired of everything. Where could she have gone so far wrong? Every time some small obstacle had made her turn right, she had turned carefully left the next time. She knew which direction she was heading for safety. But it all went wrong somewhere?

It was like the trees were changing as well. Where she had been, near the road, most of the trees had been lovely hickory or tulip. Now, she was in a thicket of creepy looking trees. It was as if the trees were deliberately reaching down to try catching and snagging up her hair. Where was she stranded? Suddenly, the scenery changed again: the trees were hickory or tulip again.

She needed shelter; she needed help. Everything hurt, most of all her left leg and right shoulder. She could just imagine what a sight she would make: covered in mud and leaves from falling every few feet, her hair in a wild mop from being caught on trees, blood everywhere…

Light! She noticed light. A house! People! It seemed like Elena had never been so happy in her entire life. She was damp with dew and sweat, her hair was as wet as if she'd been standing in the rain. But she didn't care: she wanted to reach civilization. With each cautious step, she was getting closer. There was something familiar about this house though. It was a cottage. A recognizable cottage. Caroline's family cottage. She recognized it as soon as she entered the clearing.

Did she walk in a circle? But that could not be? How was that even possible? She also saw Marge standing on the porch, waiting for Elena's return. She had known? Elena was getting sick of being pushed around. This had been another one of those tests. But why? For what?

Elena angrily stepped on the porch and looked at Marge with a feral look. 'Are you going to explain what just happened?'

Marge smiled and made a gesture to take a seat. As they both sat down, Marge replied: 'I think it's time to tell you something very important. You succeeded with this test most splendidly. I knew you were brave enough to risk major injuries so you would have a chance to escape from something. Now, I can finally tell you.'

* * *

Outside of the Salvatore boarding house, Damon and Bonnie, who seemed to be a new dynamic duo, were waiting for the Heretics to leave. Finally, after an hour of staking out, Lily went towards the cemetery. She was followed by her strange family of vampire-siphoners. Lily had an urn in her hands. This obviously contained the burned remains of her beloved Malcolm. The twosome waited five minutes before they made a move towards the boarding house.

They, silently, creeped towards the door that would give them access to the kitchen. Bonnie opened the door as quietly as she could. But someone was standing there: Enzo.

'Hello there, old friend', Damon said. 'Recovered from this morning already?'

'You'll have to excuse me for not responding to that particular endearment. May I help you?' Enzo said.

'Actually, you can. I'm sure you're aware of Stefan's presence in this house. So, I know we've had our issues, but I also know that you're not like Lily's Crazy-tics, so I was thinking… help me get him back?'

'That would be foolish of me, considering I'm the one who suggested to kidnap Stefan and then went to kidnap Caroline', the British lad stated.

'You know, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd choose to be Lily's errand-boy over us, but…', Damon said, but he was caught off by Enzo.

Enzo coldly said: 'I chose you and your friends many times. Many times, you and your friends chose each other over me. Let's just say that Lily and I have similar views on loyalty.'

'You know she abandoned her entire family once', Damon said skeptically. 'Who's to say she won't do it again?'

'She didn't abandon her _family_ ', Enzo began, clearly frustrated. 'She abandoned her _relatives_. There's a difference.'

'Yeah', Damon was frustrated in response, 'One is a permanent blood tie, a name, a legacy.'

'Well, in her eyes, Malcolm was more a Salvatore than you ever were. Why else would she bury him in the family crypt next to Elena?' Enzo commented.

Damon smirked. 'That crypt is sealed shut by a spell.'

'Oh, right!' Enzo said, but he was feigning surprise. 'Well, then it's a good thing that she's mother-bear to a group of magic siphoners…'

Damon's eyes widened in alarm when he realized that they'll be able to get in the crypt where Elena's body was being held, and immediately rushed away to go to her without another word, leaving a torn Enzo behind. But then something hit Enzo: the appearance of his former buddy's companion.

'Bonnie Bennett, where are you?' Enzo said, with his lusciously British accent. He shut the door while saying that.

He walked back to the center of the house: the living room. Not a sign of the hometown witch nearby. Until he felt a clear pain in his head. He started to scream in agony. Bonnie appeared with Stefan in her arms.

'Is this really necessary, love?' Enzo said, piercing it through the puffs and breaths from pain.

'Apparently, it is, "love"', Bonnie answered. With a flick of her wrist, she snapped Enzo's neck by magic.

Together, Stefan and Bonnie walked safely out of the boarding house. Bonnie supported Stefan as he was worn out by his latest hostage situation.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Mystic Falls Cemetery, Lily was holding an urn full of Malcolm's ashes. She led Beau, Valerie, Nora, and Mary Louise toward the Salvatore crypt. They stood and looked at it for a long moment before anyone spoke.

'It's a little gaudy', the Salvatore mother quietly said. 'Pull out Elena's coffin and dump the body in the river under the Falls. She can spend the next sixty years of her life underwater.'

The Heretics did as they were told and headed toward the crypt, easily opening the front gate and walking inside, all the while siphoning the magic spell from the place. Until it vanished completely.

Merely minutes later, Damon arrived to the Salvatore crypt to find that no one is around, so he called out to see if anyone was hiding nearby. 'Hello? Anybody burying somebody nobody cared about?' He finally noticed what had happened to the crypt after that. The door had been ripped off and his eyes widened in horror and ager as he rushed toward it. The only thing he could say was: 'No…'

He entered the crypt to find that it was completely empty, save for a stone bench, a table, and a few lit candles, and he began to freak out. 'No. No…' He groaned loudly and finally lost his temper, flipping over the bench until it flew into the far wall. 'No, no, no, _no_ …' Panic was residing in his words.

Lillian Salvatore appeared behind him, looking both annoyed and mildly amused. 'You always did throw the _worst_ tantrums.'

Damon turned around and approached her, glaring at her furiously. ' _Where_. _Is_. _She_?' He pronounced each word so elegantly dangerous that his eyes started to flicker from the heat of his anger.

'That's the fun of cloaking spells, Damon. She could be right next to you, or she could be a million miles away, and I'm the only one who knows where she is', Lillian said.

'You want to punish me for what I did?' Damon was overwhelmed by it all. 'Fine. Punish _me_. Torture _me_. Kill me, for all I care, but leave Elena out of it!'

Lily sighed and calmly continued her planned monologue: 'Do you remember when you broke my grandmother's vase?'

'What?' Damon asked, exasperated.

'You were young. Ten maybe. You denied it, even when your father made you cut a switch from the yard. Even when he beat you with it until you were bloody. Still, you denied it vehemently. Hmmm. You were sitting there, playing with your little toy soldiers, bloody and bruised, so I switched tactics. And, the next morning, when you woke, your room was bare… No toy soldiers. No toys at _all_. And you cried, and cried. Admitted everything.'

'Are you comparing Elena with a toy soldier?!' Damon's anger went up again.

'And Malcolm was not a vase', Lily simply replied. She turned and left the crypt, and when Damon followed her out, he found Beau, Valerie, Mary Louise, and Nora waiting outside for her. Lily joined them before turning to face Damon with her Heretics surrounding her. Damon looked furious, devastated, and annoyed by everything that had happened as they all addressed him.

'Malcolm was a vital part of this family', Lily said. 'He meant something to each of us.'

'He found me on the streets', Mary Louise started. 'He was kind to me, something I hadn't felt in years. He's the one who convinced me to meet with Lily.'

It was Nora's turn: 'My family wanted me dead. Malcolm made sure they didn't succeed.'

'I hadn't seen Beau in a decade. Malcolm reunited us', Valerie said.

Finally, Lily said in conclusion: 'He was my sounding board, my confidante, my eldest son. Ironic that you took him from me.'

Damon rolled his eyes. 'Fine! All right. Tell me what you want.'

* * *

 _INSERT SONG: War in Heaven - The Raveonettes_

Andrew had begun to explain things about himself. 'The thing is, Caroline, that I'm something you've never seen before. Well, seen in action that is.' He fumbled with his fingers as if he was nervous for telling this. 'I have travelled the world: Belgium, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Costa Rica even… Always in towns were strange things have happened. Things like disappearances, found bodies drained of blood, mauled ones, people with a sudden amnesia from one day to the other….'

'Basically, you're saying that you're the devil', Caroline tried to summarize. 'Because all of that sounds pretty devilish to me.'

'That's where you're wrong, Caroline', Andrew replied. 'I'm not that the one doing those things.'

'Then who is?' Caroline demanded.

'That depends. Evil vampires, runaway werewolves, diabolical witches,… You name it, we try to put a stop to it.'

'We who?' Elena asked, back at Caroline's cottage. 'Who are you talking about?'

'People like Ryanna and me, Elena. We reside and act here on this lovely planet Earth assigned to protect it from all those evil creatures', she said. On that notion, Ryanna entered the room. 'Our destiny is to protect people from all that darkness. All people even. Be it vampires, werewolves, witches, humans, even hybrids. As long as they are good people, we'll try to protect them.'

'But what are you then?' Elena asked.

'Protectors of some sorts. We like to call ourselves _Guardians_ , since the term "hunters" has a negative connotation', Andrew said, still sitting across the table from Caroline, whose mouth dropped a centimeter with each phrase that was uttered. 'The supernatural Hunters that were created by a dying witch, who wanted them to fulfill Qetsiyah's wish, which is to cure and kill the very first immortal, Silas, weren't really friendly. There's only one remaining Hunter of the Brotherhood of the Five, and I think you know who that is.'

 _Jeremy Gilbert_ , Caroline thought. She knew exactly who he was talking about. They had met The Five; they were really close-minded about immortality. 'So you are here to protect people', Caroline tried to summarize. 'You are Guardians.'

'Yes, we have come here to put a stop to one of the most dreaded creatures on Earth', Andrew explained. 'You might have heard of them: the Heretics.'

'But why am I here then?' Elena asked, on the verge of biting her nails as something was slowly dawning on her.

'Well, now, there's something else we need to illustrate', Marge established. 'Elena Gilbert, you are one of us. You are chosen… to become a Guardian.'

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

* * *

 **NEXT TIME: S07E04 – A Nightmare on Sorority Row**

THE HORROR EVENT OF THE YEAR – Caroline has to organize Whitmore's House of Evil and enlists the help of Stefan, Bonnie and a reluctant Damon. During the night, the event turns out to be scaring people too much. Enzo contemplates about his alliance with Lily while he connects with someone in a special way. As everyone tries to figure out what is going on, Matt goes down a vicious path. Meanwhile, Elena learns valuable details about the past.


	5. A Nightmare on Sorority Row

Season 7 Episode 4: A Nightmare on Sorority Row

 **For information about which actor/actress plays a character, look for the episode on my MrInigo1995 Fanfiction wikia.**

* * *

 _Previously on 'The Vampire Diaries': Caroline wanted to know Andrew's intentions. Ethan offered to help her. A new agent was added to the Mystic Falls police force who turned out to be Ethan's stepdaughter Cleo. Malcolm's death made Lily and the Heretics act on it. As Stefan was kidnapped, Bonnie and Damon tried to save him. They succeeded, but Damon discovered that Elena had been taken and hidden by a cloaking spell. Elena tried to escape from the weird situation she is in, but this failed as she only found a way back to the cottage. Andrew and Marge explained what they are, and revealed that Elena is chosen to be one of them._

The campus of Whitmore College was roaming with people dressed in their Halloween costumes. A provocative Frankenstein was seen hanging around with a classic female Dracula – Draculina if you may – and a hunky red devil. Another girl had dressed herself as a seductive Native American while the well-known Mario and Luigi were present, kissing each other furiously. Jack-o-lanterns were scattered around the premises. They were all really excited for this night. Whitmore's House of Evil had been the most anticipated attraction of this year, because planning the event had begun somewhere in September. All the students knew about this particular celebration of the scariest night of the year.

The waning crescent moon was hanging above them, slightly illuminating the area, which made the entire experience go to a whole other level. Added to that spookiness was the wind which played with the leaves on the ground and the ones still attached to the trees like a child playing with his toys. Students, dressed or not, were dancing in the living room of a nearby sorority house on sorority row. The beats of Boogeyman by the Wizardz of Oz were pumping through the speakers. The sorority next door was chosen as the stage for Whitmore's House of Evil. Each room decorated in a particular horrifying theme. Be it a graveyard, a murder house, an abandoned insane asylum full of ghastly lunatics, a gathering of haunting witches or a creepy circus.

Suddenly, screaming was heard throughout the house. A window from upstairs burst and a guy went through it. Due to the elegant force that we call gravity, he was smashed into the ground. His eyes stood still, clearly speaking the language of fright, and blood streamed out of his head. The exit doors of the attraction flew open where after a bunch of college students went through them. Screaming, they ran towards safety, wherever they could find that.

Damon arrived at the scenery. He looked around and his eyes grew of realization and anger. He had clearly enough of everything that had happened. Surprisingly, a blond guy appeared beside him. He was dressed in his uniform, and not a Halloween-one, although he had no legal right to arrest someone. Matt looked at Damon with a hard, yet apologetic face.

'I'm sorry', he said.

'You'd better be', Damon replied, finally giving Matt his angry expression.

===The Vampire Diaries===

 _A WEEK EARLIER + INSERT SONG: Red Right Hand – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds_

'Caroline, we're still running behind with everything', one of Caroline's fellow students said.

Caroline had been put in charge of the Halloween event of her college this year. Normally, someone else would have done that. But that person had gotten sick… of doing it, perhaps. People told her that the previous answerable person had been too sick to do it; suffering from a severe case of fatigue, rhinorrhea, muscle aches and a loss of appetite. In other words, a common cold. Caroline had not figured out yet if the person was really sick or just couldn't oversee the entire planning anymore. Caroline had been proposed to replace that person. At first, she had declined the offer to do it. Yet, when her drama professor had informed all of her class that they are supposed to plan something as an assignment, the blonde vampire stepped up and proudly took on the position.

Proud, yes, before she learned that the previous one had left a chaos. The whole arrangement had been a hot mess of unsolved and upcoming problems. The moment she took on the entire task of orchestrating the perfect House of Evil had been just a few days after Enzo tried to kidnap her. In fact, it would help her mind to take a detour of the whole Guardian-thing. She had been surprised by Andrew's revelation about who and what he was.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _'Yes, we have come here to put a stop to one of the most dreaded creatures on Earth', Andrew explained. 'You might have heard of them: the Heretics.'_

 _A form of happiness had filled Caroline's eyes with hopeful sparks. 'And what can you do about them?' Caroline had asked._

 _'I can't. I mean, I want to, but that's really not up to me. First off, something must be dealt with. And that's going to take quite a while', Andrew answered._

 _'And that is…?' was Caroline's next question._

 _A sigh escaped Andrew's lips. 'Confidential.'_

 _Caroline was bothered with this answer. She looked aside in the feeling of annoyance. 'Seriously? You are not going to explain that?' Caroline got up from her seat, took her coat and shot a remark towards him: 'Talk to me when you know what to say.'_

 _She was about to storm off, when she remembered something. She had been wondering this since she found out that Andrew was acting suspicious. The blonde vampire stopped dead in her angered tracks and looked directly at Andrew. 'Were you just deceiving me, flirting with me, just to gain my trust and infiltrate in my group of friends?'_

 _This startled Andrew for a moment; left him baffled as Caroline pierced her gaze through his soul. He had seen quite a lot since he became a guardian, but this look she was giving him was a first. Finally, he replied: 'It was never my intention to lead you on, Caroline. I was being a friend, not a potential boyfriend. I'm sorry if you received the wrong message. My intention was pure and simple: getting to know you and your friends because of something…_ bigger _than all of you.'_

 _END FLASHBACK_

And now, about two months later, she was still unsure about what was bigger than all of her friends, herself included. Andrew had been avoiding them and talking with various other people around campus. She and Bonnie had taken a close watch on everything he was doing, trying to figure out what was going out. Nothing had come out of it. Nothing had been discovered. Not even Bonnie, with her regained sense of magical self-control after Kai's attack. Bonnie had searched for a way to discover what was happening all around them, but nothing had come up.

The worst part of everything: she felt like Stefan was trying to avoid her. Something had changed ever since he had been caught by Beau and his mother. After Bonnie saved him, he had looked worried and shocked. A jolt of bewilderment running through his veins every now and then. Caroline knew something had happened, but she didn't dare to ask further. She just didn't want to upset him. Stefan was always honorable and nice, but seeing him like this was new. Also, if she wanted a relationship with him at one point, she needed to trust him. Still the whole situation distressed her.

But she was _not_ going to let that take everything away from her. 'Everything will be okay. I'm sure of that', Caroline delivered as her answer. _Yes, everything was just going to be fine and shipshape._

* * *

The next day, Bonnie was sitting on the window seat in her dorm room at Whitmore College and writing in her dairy. She was so busy with capturing everything. She didn't know what Caroline had already covered in her dairy. So had just started writing about the latest events: _Dear Elena… Not to dive into the bad news first, but there's a severe drought of good news lately. And, well… this sort of concerns you. Lily is_ hiding _your coffin somewhere. She promised to keep you safe as long as Damon stays out of Mystic Falls. I've already tried multiple locating spells, but you are cloaked. And not only magically cloaked, but cloaked by the Heretics. So Damon's been keeping a low profile which has been challenging for…'_

Suddenly, Bonnie was overcome with a vision. This vision had been plaguing her since the beginning of September, when she had rescued Stefan from the hands of the Heretics, including his mother. In this vision, she saw a pinkish-red, round-cut gemstone with several veins of colors similar to that of an opal. Also always present was at least one man, covered in blood and screaming in agony as if he's being tortured. Multiple flashes of a particular weapon kept interrupting the sightings of this man, or sometimes men and women.

Bonnie opened her eyes again. She felt disoriented again; this feeling of confusion came up after each one of those visions. She always felt vulnerable after having them. She hadn't felt like this ever since she experienced fatigue and dizziness back when Damon and Stefan first arrived back in Mystic Falls. And that was years ago. Bonnie shifted her gaze to the bed-side clock and tried to overcome the blurry spots in front of her eyes. Being defenseless to these visions were annoying her. She had promised herself, and others too, that she wouldn't be pushed around _again_. By anyone or anything.

Yet when she saw what time it was, she had been pushed. Passed out, actually, for about one hour and a half. She jolted upright and cursed those visions. Panic approached on the horizon as she tried to catch her breath after the whole experience. And she knew exactly who to tell.

Meanwhile, Damon, fresh out of the shower, walked into the living room of Alaric's apartment. Alaric, on the other hand, had been sitting on a chair, reading a book. The black haired vampire noticed that it was the novel Germinal by Emile Zola that Alaric was reading. Damon read the titles from his friend's book pile: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver,… It should have been hard to distinguish the titles, because the room was a mess: the coffee table was covered in empty liquor and beer bottles, and there were clothes strewn everywhere.

The novel titles were slowly simmering into Damon's foggy brain. Those were all depressing novels in his opinion. They dealt with death, loss and grief, and not in an optimistic way. The college professor had been watching films and reading books with similar themes and plots ever since they had been back in the United States. He debated about addressing this problem with his friend. But then he decided not to do that and do what he had planned to do in the first place: searching for his phone.

'You seen my phone?' Damon asked.

Alaric looked up at Damon and then scanned the area. 'I've, uh, seen your empties, your dinner…', he paused to hold up a black and blue disposable razor that was laying on the coffee table as well, 'your razor even. But not your phone.' He tossed the razor back on the table before sitting back and sighing loudly. He finally really looked at Damon and lifted his eyebrows. 'You know, some clothes would be nice.'

Damon, still searching for his phone, looked at him with that well-known smile of his. His eye caught something underneath Alaric's chair. He smacked the brown haired man's legs playfully as he bend over to grab it from the floor.

'Got it!' Damon celebrated, choosing to ignore Alaric's question. He stood back up and searched for something on his phone. When he actually found the very thing he was pursuing, he smiled again.

'How long are you planning on crashing here, Damon? You know you can compel yourself a whole sorority house if you wanted to, right?' Alaric stated exasperatedly.

Damon smirked. 'And miss this _Odd Couple_ squalor?' He paused for a moment. 'Besides, that's the deal with Lily: I stay away from Mystic Falls and she'll keep Elena's coffin safe.' From that moment on, sarcasm started to drip into his phrases. 'I'm starting to enjoy the luxury of having one barely-functional shower-head after years of being tortured by the four that I have in my actual home.'

Alaric gave him an annoyed look. As much as he liked Damon being his friend, living with him was another thing. Another, completely irritating thing. Damon rolled his eyes and sighed.

'Relax!' he ordered. 'It's just 'til we hunt down Lily's long-lost Heretic member and swap him out for my comatose girlfriend.'

'Yeah? And, uh, how long until that happens, Damon?' Skepticism oozed from Alaric's entire attitude now. 'Because you've been living here for longer than seven weeks now.'

'Pretty soon, Ric. And that's thanks to Donovan. Which is probably a phrase _no one_ has uttered… ever.' The two of them both chuckled in amusement. Damon broke his chuckle to continue: 'He's checking Lily's cell phone records.'

Just then, Bonnie walked into the room with an irritated look on her face. She was greeted by Damon like he had been greeting her ever since they had started to get along really well: with a simple "hi, Bon-Bon". Bonnie closed the door just as he said it, and she turned to him. When Bonnie took in how Damon looked at the moment, she paused, obviously creeped out.

'Please tell me I'm not interrupting something between the two of you', Bonnie stated, as a joke.

'Oh, trust me', Alaric said defensively, 'you're not. What's up?' He could already guess why she was here, because she had been in his apartment to talk about one topic only.

'I just had another vision', Bonnie revealed. 'A flash of horrified people with x-shaped wounds on their skin. And, when I opened my eyes, _one hour and a half_ had gone by. It's getting worse.'

Just then, Damon returned to the conversation. 'Who wants to celebrate Halloween tonight?'

Bonnie, clearly surprised by this announcement, simply replied: 'I'm busy.'

Alaric rolled with his eyes as a response and said: 'I'll pass.'

'Well, that's too bad, because Lily made a bunch of phone calls that bounced off cell towers from New York City, Easton, Chambersburg, and more. Something tells me that something is coming', Damon proudly announced.

'Why would Lily send one of her Heretics to New York City and all those other places?' Bonnie asked, confused about this new information.

'Tell you what… You ask him yourself after he's safe in my car's trunk or just my hands even, hmmm?' Damon suggested. 'So, anyone up for an old-fashioned hostage-swap?'

'Does agreeing to help you mean you putting on pants?' Alaric wanted to know.

Damon smirked gleefully and pulled the towel off of his waist before throwing it at Alaric. Bonnie, getting an eyeful of Damon's now-naked body, quickly looked away. Both of Damon's friends were embarrassed by seeing almost all of him.

'I'll even give you shotgun when we capture him!' Damon's smirk appeared again which seemed to contain a plan, making his eyes sparkle with a dangerous sense of certainty.

* * *

That evening, Stefan was sitting on the couch in the old Lockwood Mansion. A glass of bourbon was standing on the table in front of him. To the right of the glass were his feet, carefully placed on the same table and in a relaxed manner. But he wasn't relaxed. In fact, he hadn't been relaxed for over seven weeks. Since he had seen that the Valerie he knew back in 1863 was one of the Heretics, his world had been slightly turned upside down. His brain kept going back to the era of Valerie and the County Fair.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _Stefan and Valerie were walking through the fair together as they got to know one another. Both of them had grown attached to each other in a lovely way, but still there was tension in the air._

 _'I have a brother who's away at war, a father who judges me for not joining him, and a mother who was strong and kind. She died when I was ten', Stefan told._

 _Valerie looked at him. Although Stefan didn't notice at the time, she was feeling slightly guilty for deceiving him. 'I'm so sorry.' She wasn't sure if she had said sorry about her deceiving him or how his life had been up until now. Either way, a sorry was in place._

 _'Oh, it was a long time ago', Stefan shrugged._

 _'There's no shame in missing her', Valerie explained with a smile. 'A man on the outside with the heart of a boy? There are worse things.'_

 _As they walked, they saw that Julian was heading right toward them, and looked very unhappy with the situation between the youngest Salvatore boy and Valerie Tulle._

 _'Your chaperon is… quite persistent', Stefan stated with a dose of concern._

 _Valerie quickly grabbed hold of her amulet, but in a way that no one else would notice anything weird about it. She started to produce a smile. 'Then we shall elude him!' Valerie took Stefan by the arm and continued to lead them both toward Julian. 'Come.'_

 _'What are you doing?' Stefan asked, confused about why they were walking directly at the obvious threatening Julian._

 _Still holding her amulet, Valerie whispered an incantation under her breath that sounded like "Invisique". She casted a cloaking spell, causing them both to vanish from Julian's view, forcing him to continue walking, thinking that he simply lost sight of them. Stefan looked at her in amazement, not fully understanding what just happened, as they continued to walk away._

 _'How did he not see us?' Stefan's curiosity won from the other emotions roaming through his entire being._

 _'Would you believe me if I said magic?' Valerie smiled, revealing the truth, but as a joke. This was the fun part about lying to someone; telling the truth without them realizing it is the truth. She led him toward the woods as Stefan laughed happily._

 _Later that day, Valerie was still leading a nervous-looking Stefan into the woods. Night had already fallen which made the woods seem eerie. And not only that was making Stefan's nerves tingle. The thought of Julian popping up from everywhere threatened to buckle his knees. Valerie was either ignoring how he felt about escaping Julian or not realizing it. That's why the youngest Salvatore brother felt the need to explain it to his fellow runaway._

 _'Julian is going to kill me', Stefan stated, he really meant it as a fact._

 _Valerie, with a smile, simply replied: 'Just compliment the whiteness of his teeth. He'll forget all about it.'_

 _They found an abandoned cart with a lantern on it, and Valerie sat on it, smiling at Stefan flirtatiously. Stefan smiled back at her before kissing her gently, and the two made out for a long moment until Stefan broke away, looking mildly embarrassed. This was because of one thing: he was still a virgin. It made him conscious about everything that was going on right now. Was he doing something right? What was he supposed to do?_

 _Valerie looked at him with concern. 'Is something wrong?'_

 _'No, no', Stefan responded bashfully. 'It's just that I've never…' He really wanted to admit it, but he just couldn't utter the words. He trailed off, and Valerie quickly realized that he was a virgin. She smiled sweetly at him, and Stefan hesitated before gesturing to the front of her dress. 'Do you mind if I…?' He left the words unspoken._

 _Valerie nodded. He started to unbutton the bodice of her dress before the two began to make out more passionately this time. Valerie shrugged off her jacket before turning away from him so Stefan could unlace the corset. Once he was finished, he moved closer behind her and kissed her neck. The siphoner held tightly to the cart to support herself as they slowly made love._

 _END FLASHBACK_

Stefan poured himself another dose of a – hopefully – numbing alcoholic drink. But it didn't help. In fact, it made things worse. The alcohol made him remember every single detail about Valerie; her long, blonde-brown hair and attractive facial features, her cordial and lighthearted spirit which had won over Stefan's heart. Yet, somehow she had become one of the feared Heretics, the group of vampire-witch hybrids who went down as history's most dreadful sociopaths.

Yes, Valerie's whole kind personality had been appealing to Stefan back in 1863. He had even experienced something incredible with her, something that he would always remember. Now, at the time of a semi-apocalyptic Mystic Falls, he still could retell the events of his time spent with Valerie. One event in particular that changed Stefan forever; the loss of his virginity. Not only that; he had exposed his life to her in a way he had never done before back then. Stefan quickly drank the glass empty.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _Stefan and Valerie kissed each other and smiled after their tryst in the cart. Once they were redressed, Stefan led her farther into the woods. He had thought of something to tell Valerie. She willingly followed him although it bothered Valerie that they were entering a graveyard._

 _'Come with me', Stefan said, encouraging the first woman he ever had sex with to follow him. 'I want to show you something.' He took her hand as they continued walking until they reached a particular grave in the cemetery._

 _'Heh, this is romantic', Valerie chuckled nervously._

 _'This is my mother's grave', Stefan announced when they arrived at a grave which had the name "Lillian Salvatore" engraved. Valerie froze when she realized what Stefan was doing, and a flash of guilty crossed her face. Stefan stood in front of the grave; he hadn't seen Valerie's expression._

 _'I come here every day to replace the flowers', Stefan continued. 'She's been dead for six years, but I'm still trying to make up for my failure.'_

 _'What do you mean by that?' Valerie was concerned about that statement._

 _Stefan sighed. 'She had consumption. One day, her coughing would not stop. My father sent me to go buy some flowers to make an herbal tonic. I ran to town as fast as I could, but by the time I got home with the flowers, she had been taken to the sanatorium.'_

 _Valerie's eyes went from the grave to the distant horizon. However, she was trying to see further than the line that divided the sky from the earth. Sympathetically she said: 'You never got to say goodbye…'_

 _Stefan nodded: 'She died in the TB ward shortly after.'_

 _Valerie, looking sad, walked over and knelt beside him as Stefan continued in a shaky voice. 'I always wonder what would have happened if I had just been able to run a little faster. The tonic would have helped her. She could have lived.'_

 _Valerie looked at the flowers on Lily's grave, of the Salvatore mother she knew all too well. She knew exactly what Lily had been up to. She caressed one of the flowers and immediately thought of something. 'Were these the kind of flowers you were sent for?'_

 _'Yes. Cream…'_

 _'Cream violets', Valerie finished for him. She smiled at him sympathetically once again. 'That tonic would not have saved her.'_

 _Stefan was stunned by this revelation. No one ever dared to speak about his mother like that. But that was usually because of his father's presence. Stefan's father had a way of knowing everything in an uncomfortable way. And if you spoke wrongly about how he had handled something, you were sure to be punished in some manner. Even if you didn't know it yourself. But Valerie's comment still was astonishing. 'That's… That's very kind of you, but you cannot be certain.'_

 _'But I_ am _, Stefan', she said. 'I worked in a sanatorium, caring for patients who were just like your mother. Cream violets have no medicinal properties. It's an old wives' tale.' She gently brushed a lock of hair off of his forehead. 'Your father sent you on a fool's errant. You were only ten. He… probably wanted you outside of the house to make it easier on himself.'_

 _Stefan was overwhelmed by this revelation. He had never thought of it in that way. Maybe his father really wasn't so bad after all. He had experienced some nice moments with his father back when he was a child. Valerie leant forward so their faces were almost touching._

 _'No matter what, you couldn't have saved your mother', Valerie assured Stefan in a gentle way. 'Her_ death _is_ not _your fault.'_

 _She caressed his cheek with her hand, and he reached up to squeeze it softly. It looked as though he was about to kiss her again when a male voice called out from behind them. His dark hair went along with the darkness of the night surrounding him. His blue eyes sparkled in the slight moonlight._

 _'Time to say goodbye', Julian said, clearly displaying a force of ignorance which made Valerie and Stefan stand quickly to their feet and turned toward him, looking guilty. 'I expected you would visit here sooner or later.'_

 _'Sir', Stefan started frantically, 'if you would just let me explain…'_

 _'We are leaving for New York now.' It was clear that Julian wasn't going to let Stefan talk._

 _'I did not mean to disobey you…', Valerie pleaded, but again Julian cut someone off._

 _'It was not_ me _who you disobeyed. Come with me now, and we will speak no more of it. The carriage awaits', Julian mentioned, and he motioned towards the woods, to were the carriage was probably waiting for them. After Valerie stood there for a few undecided seconds, Julian had enough and turned. He left to head for the carriage, stating that Valerie should follow immediately._

 _Stefan, looking sad, took Valerie's hand before she could go. 'When will I see you again?'_

 _Valerie squeezed his hands. 'I will find my way back to you. I promise.'_

 _END FLASHBACK_

Stefan opened his eyes. His phone was ringing in front of him. Although he hadn't set a loud alarm or something, the sound hurt like hell. As he tried to take his phone, he noticed that the room was lighter than before. Sun beams were going through the glass windows, illuminating the whole living room of the Lockwood mansion. Stefan realized that he had fallen asleep. All that reminiscing about his time with Valerie back when he was human, had made him so tired that he had made his way to the land of dreams. But even there the concept of Valerie being back in his life had plagued him.

He decided that he would not let it get to him once again like that. He looked at who was calling and smiled. Caroline, of course. Already he was wondering what was going on now. Yes, he had somehow tried to steer away from her, but he was going to do something about it. In fact, he was going to face Valerie about their past.

But first, he needed to know how Caroline was doing.

'Hello, Caroline', Stefan said, his voice filled with warmth and love.

'Stefan', Caroline immediately dug in, 'I need your help.'

* * *

'You want _what_ from us?' Damon exclaimed. He could not believe that this question was even directed at him.

They were all standing in the dorm room of Bonnie and Caroline. The same room where Elena had slept for almost two years while she attended college. This was roaming around Damon's brain the entire time that Caroline had explained what she wanted from them. Now, she was about to explain again. But she was going to keep it short this time.

'I want you to help me with the organization of Whitmore's House of Evil', Caroline said for what seemed like the millionth time.

'I kind of understand Damon, actually', Bonnie added to the conversation. 'We have to deal with the Heretics and what those Guardians are up to, and you are asking our help in celebrating a college Halloween?'

'Look', Caroline began again, 'I need to do this as an assignment. After this, I can help figure out what is going on with those supernatural terrorists and that group of flawed protectors of humanity. But until this House of Evil is not finished, I will seriously reconsider our friendship.'

Caroline was trying not to look directly at Stefan. After ignoring her for a couple of weeks, the ice would not be broken so easily. But the blonde vampire really wanted to talk with the youngest Salvatore. Something was bothering him, and that was bothering her in return. And he hadn't said a word about her asking his help. In fact, he hadn't even blinked. He had just stared at the horizon during the whole explanation of Caroline.

'What do you think, lover boy?' Damon asked.

Stefan's concentration on the nothingness into the distance was broken now. He sighed, gulped Valerie away for hopefully a few minutes – with any luck hours – and spoke: 'I think that this is the least that you can do for her, Damon.'

Damon's eyes were just oozing with incredulity. His mouth hung open. 'Pardon?'

'Do I need to remind you two that Caroline went to extraordinary lengths to bring you two back?' He explained, directing this to Bonnie and Damon. 'I had given up. Jeremy had given up. Enzo had actually given up; drinking from random girls and going from town to town. He blamed me for giving you up, but he had too. Even Elena had given up by letting Alaric compel the memories away.' He adjusted his posture to look more serious about what he was trying to say. 'You know who hadn't given up yet? Caroline! The one who is asking you two right now for a favor.'

Bonnie was looking down, right at the floor. All of that had registered in her brain already, back when she returned from the prison world. She had heard that Caroline had been the one who hoped for a solution, a way to find Damon and Bonnie.

'So I think it's only fair for you two to repay this small favor', Stefan said. He turned to face Caroline again. 'And I will jump in too. Besides, this will help to get our minds off of everything that's been going on right now.'

Even Damon shifted in the chair. He was getting uncomfortable. He crossed his legs in another way. This whole situation was making him nervous. Yes, he needed to be thankful of Caroline for sticking with the possibility of Bonnie and him being alive after the Other Side collapsed. But the one who really saved him was Bonnie Bennett. And in that moment, he decided something.

'I'll go with whatever you decide, Bon Bon', the dark haired Salvatore claimed.

Bonnie threw her hands in the air. 'Great, now there's really only one person to blame when that horror house isn't finished.' That kind of broke the tension that was hanging in the air. 'Let's do it!' she said.

'Finally!' Caroline smiled. 'I knew you would come around. I already have something for you to do. Bonnie, you go help with the witches set-up. Since you're a witch, you can say what is totally fantasy and what is right. But do make it creepy. It's Halloween, of course.'

Bonnie nodded and left the room, going directly to the sorority house where Whitmore's House of Evil would take place.

'Damon, you can do the graveyard', Caroline ordered. 'You're a vampire too, so you know how death looks like.'

'Not to forget all the people we lost', Damon simply stated.

And he was right. They all knew how death looked like. They had lost multiple people to whatever threat entered Mystic Falls. Be it a sociopathic siphoner, a vampiric group of them, an Original or just a jealous vampire-doppelgänger. They had lost numerous people. Caroline thought of her dear mother again. She closed her eyes for just a second and tried to put the pain away. But as a vampire you just couldn't do that. It was living as a vampire with heightened emotions or as a vampire without humanity. Caroline had learned her lesson from her downward spiral after the death of her mom. Better to endure painful emotions than inflicting pain on people, even her friends.

'You get what you have to do', Caroline whispered.

Damon smiled in a subtle way that meant he also felt sorry for her but also promised a happy future at dawn. He turned around and left the room, going to the outskirts of the sorority house. Which left Stefan and Caroline the only ones in the room. There already had been tension about the Halloween favor of Caroline, but now there was romantic entanglement added to it all.

Stefan gulped and looked from Caroline to the floor. 'Well, this is awkward.' He pursed his lips against one another. 'So what's my task?'

Caroline tilted her head. She didn't know what kind of task to give to him. She hadn't expect him to really come to her help, or even stand up for her. But what just happened clearly meant that he still wanted to be with her. Was she supposed to ignore these past weeks, according to him? Or should she just confront him about it?

'You can do the insane asylum set-up', Caroline ordered. 'Is that okay with you?'

'Sure', Stefan said, smiling all the way through.

Caroline couldn't hold it anymore. If she wasn't about to ask what this was all about, she was going to burst; explode in confusion, curiosity and desperation. Same with Stefan, who couldn't keep the secrets and history about Valerie anymore. But he just didn't know.

'What is going on?' Caroline finally asked.

Stefan didn't want to answer anymore. Actually, he didn't know what to say. Everything was just too complicated right now. He wanted to be with Caroline, but this Valerie-situation made everything harder. Because she was his first time and you can never forget your first time.

'It's… nothing', Stefan said and stormed out of the dorm room, leaving Caroline behind. She was confused once again.

Stefan walked down the stairs of the building. He stepped outside into the sunlight and wanted to go into his car. Suddenly, he noticed someone in his car doing something weird. He turned around and saw a familiar face with dark brown hair and blue eyes. His mother. She was in the driver's seat of an older car. She was about to park, but it went so badly. She hit another car's front bumper, knocking it off. She sighed in annoyance before slowly inching forward.

'You have taken my town, you let those Heretics of yours destroy my house, but please… _don't_ touch my car', Stefan said.

Lily turned off her car and got out. 'Good morning, Stefan', she said.

'What are you doing here?' Stefan asked, confused about seeing his mother on Whitmore Campus.

'I was out practicing my driving. I wanted to take a ride anyway and decided to have a talk with you. The talk obviously came sooner than learning how to park', Lillian said.

Suddenly, the sound of hissing air was heard as Lily's car slumped slightly on one side. Stefan and Lily walked around the car to check out one of the driver's-side tires, and the Salvatore mother looked mildly embarrassed.

'I must have run over a nail or something', she explained. 'The streets are a disgrace. Why have streets when there is junk lying everywhere? The sand or stone roads we had earlier were better than this.' Lily opened up the trunk of her car to search for the tool box so she could start repairing her flat tire.

'Why did you want to have a talk with me, mother?' Stefan placed his hands on his hips, expressing that whatever was to come he surely wasn't about to give into his mother.

'We didn't have a chance to talk further after we had captured you', Lily said. 'If there's anything that I want to talk about, it's about me sending Lily to you and…'

She was caught off by Stefan: 'Yes, because letting your son fall in love for the first time and then drop it like it was nothing to you, was really motherly of you.'

Lily dropped everything and faced Stefan. 'What did you say?'

'I said; that was really motherly of you. And then to even promise her return after a few months. That was just classy.'

'It can't be. You're lying about this', Lily bounced back, her eyes drifting away from Stefan to the endless nothingness.

Stefan's eyes narrowed. He had a serious look on his face. 'Why would I lie about something like that? Did you think that it was funny? Or comforting for you?' But Stefan read the expression of Lily from her face: disbelief and surprise. He realized something new. It was something that he hadn't considered before. 'Valerie never told you. You never knew.'

* * *

 _INSERT SONG: The Day I Will Be Dead – King Dalton_

The next morning, Enzo was coming down to the kitchen to find one of the Heretics cooking. It was Valerie. He was dying to eat something. Or someone, for all he cared.

'Breakkie! What are we having?' Enzo asked curiously.

'Mushroom omelets', was Valerie's answer.

Enzo reached into a nearby dish and grabbed a mushroom, only for Valerie to swat at his hand, though she looked just uncomfortable enough to make it clear she was hiding something. Enzo began to pay good attention to her. He felt like something was wrong.

Valerie tried to reassure herself. She could not reveal what had happened with Stefan back in 1863. Not to anyone. Especially Lily. So she just simply said: 'Hey! They're for Oscar. I heard that Lily expects him to be back today.'

But Enzo just looked right through it. 'I'm impressed', he said. 'Thank God it's not just to cover something up. People do intend to cover something up by, for example, fixing a meal.'

Valerie looked at him, concerned that he knew the truth, but before she could reply to him, Lily walked into the kitchen, looking very unhappy. Valerie frowned nervously when she saw Lily.

'Has Oscar come home yet?' Valerie bit her lip after asking. She wondered if he had obtained what he had been on the search for. Hopefully he didn't, because his errant meant trouble. Maybe she should do something about it, like killing Oscar. But then she remembered everything that she went through together in the prison world. Oscar had been kind and helpful. She just couldn't betray him like that, could she?

'No', Lily said. 'He said he'll come home around Halloween. Which means that we'll have to wait four more days for his return. I don't understand him anymore. Last time I checked he was just hours away. Doesn't he want to return to his family?'

'Maybe he's having fun somewhere', Enzo proposed as an answer. 'Being locked away in a prison world for a very long time might do some damage to what a guy wants.' The only answer he got from poking fun, was two angry faces directed at him. 'Okay, nevermind.'

Lily sighed. 'Lorenzo, would you mind terribly if I had a moment alone with Valerie?'

Enzo shot a curious look at Valerie. 'Is something wrong?'

Lily smiled weakly. 'Just some family business.'

Enzo left without another word, and once he was gone, Lily confronted Valerie.

'I spent yesterday with Stefan. Learned all about your little _tryst_ in 1863', Lily said, her blue eyes piercing into Valerie's.

Valerie looked shocked, but did her best to cover it up. 'We were children', she defended nervously. 'It was… It was puppy love! It meant _nothing_.'

Lily hummed. 'Hmm, right. That explains why you went into Stefan's room and read his journals back in the prison world.' She noticed Valerie's surprise and continued: 'Yes, I know all about that. I always kept my eye on all of you, even in the prison world.'

Valerie hesitated, but finally this came out: 'You were fragile at the time. I didn't want to upset you.'

'You told him you were coming back for him, and he believed you. Why put him through that?' Lillian wanted to know.

'I was a foolish human back then.' Valerie was even more nervous now. 'I'm sorry.'

'I will only say this once', Lily spoke as she gave Valerie a cold look, 'If you have _anything_ to tell me, anything at all, now is the time.'

 _FLASHBACK_

 _It was nighttime at the New York harbor, and Valerie was carrying a packed suitcase to the harbor. A foghorn blew loudly, but before she could make it to the dock, Julian popped out of the shadows and blocked her way._

 _'Slipping away before sunrise on the very day our ship leaves for England?' Julian asked in a menacing manner._

 _Valerie angrily tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her roughly by the arm and spun her around as she fought against him. 'Let me pass! I'm not going.'_

 _'Yes, you are', Julian insisted. He ripped her magical amulet off of her neck and held it up to in front of her face. 'Because Lily will not travel anywhere without her precious little orphans, and it is imperative that I leave today.' He threw the amulet on the ground and placed his boot on his with a loud crunch sound._

 _Valerie's eyes widened in fear of seeing this brutal man again. She backed away from Julian slowly, which seemed to amuse him. 'Do I frighten you?'_

 _'No.' But Valerie's nervousness was resonating through that answer._

 _'Because I can hear your heart beating faster', Julian laughed with a grin. '_ Both _of your hearts, in fact. Does Stefan Salvatore know that you are pregnant with his child?'_

 _Valerie looked both shocked and ashamed by this statement and flinched away from him as her eyes filled with tears. 'Please don't tell Lily.'_

 _Julian grinned evilly. 'Well, you have your reasons for staying her, and I have mine for leaving. Whatever will we do?' Julian then backhanded Valerie so hard that she fell to her knees. The tears she was holding back started to come out in sobs. Before she could react further, he kicked her hard in the stomach, which flipped her onto her back. She immediately flipped back over and crawled desperately toward where he had broken her amulet on the ground, hoping that it might provide her some protection. She just decided to close her eyes._

 _END FLASHBACK_

'I have nothing to hide', Valerie finally said, after a pause.

Lily examined her closely for a moment, but decided to steer away from this subject. 'I'm going to see how the others are doing right now.'

Lily walked out of the kitchen, leaving Valerie behind with her fresh-made breakfast. Valerie dropped onto the bench next to the table. Enzo reentered the kitchen as Valerie stood again to scowl at him.

'Ah, there's the mopey face I've come to know and love. I guess all it takes is a scolding from Lily to ruin breakfast', Enzo said, visibly amused. He sat down on the bench this time and looked at her. 'But there's still something you're hiding, aren't you? I guess it's something darker than being Stefan Salvatore's first time.'

'You don't know anything', Valerie said, and turned her back to him. Hopefully this would stop him from talking. 'Forget everything you think you know.'

But Enzo wasn't someone who just someone else turned his back on him. 'Enlighten me. What exactly don't I know?' Valerie stood still and remained silent. After a moment, Enzo turned to leave the room. 'Heh. Well, maybe it's easier if I just ask Lily. I'm sure she'll be eager to uncover the truth.'

'Stop! I'm just… scared', Valerie explained. Enzo was evidently pleased that his easy plan worked. He turned back at her with a smug smirk. 'I don't actually want Oscar to return, because of the errand he was on. I want to prevent him, or anyone else for that matter, from bringing a monster back into Lily's life.'

'And what monster is that?' Enzo asked.

'Julian', Valerie answered. Enzo frowned, not recognizing the name. This time, it was Valerie who smirked smugly. 'You don't know. I guess Lily doesn't tell you everything either.'

Enzo sighed. 'Who's Julian, Valerie?'

His British accent made the menacing male name seemed slightly less terrifying, but Valerie remembered every detail about Julian. 'Someone you'll want to keep as far away as possible… Assuming that one day, you want Lily to love you in the same way that you love her.' Valerie gave one last look before leaving the room, leaving an unhappy Enzo alone to think about this new and startling information.

* * *

 _INSERT SONG: Time Stands Still – Uh Huh Her_

Elena was sick of it. She had been a captive of this Marge for what felt like forever. In reality, it had been almost two months. Since she had been tested by jumping out the car, there hadn't been another test. And somehow, she wanted to begin one. She was tired of seeing these four walls of her room. She had tried to escape many times, but nothing had succeeded. In fact, a few more locks had been placed on the other side of the door.

These thoughts had plagued her mind all this time. The only time she saw Marge or Ryanna, was during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Being held captive by the "guardians" apparently equaled to five-star worthy food and drinks. Elena decided to go to sleep. Finding a way out had been pointless up until now, so why would that change in one night? She laid herself comfortably on the bed, put the soft blanket over her body and closed her eyes.

Someone had a different idea though. Someone Elena didn't really know. Elena hadn't officially met other people, but she had seen a few unknown faces around the house from time to time. There had been a forty-year-old woman called Idola, a young woman named Shay and a certain Marcus. One of them was plaguing her dreams. It was the first one. Idola had copper colored hair, a pale skin and hazel eyes. She laughed at Elena. Suddenly, that face went from lovely to demonic in no time. Idola started to yell that something was coming. Something evil would manifest in Mystic Falls as soon as the red starts to shine.

When Elena opened those light brown marbles again, she had forgotten all about the dream and heard someone whispering on the other end of the door. It was Marge; she already recognized that angelic voice. That raw voice that she grew to associate with the dark brown hair and light brown eyes that also belonged to Marge. She tried to focus her hearing, but only caught bits and pieces of the conversation that was going on. Elena got out of bed quietly and placed her ear against the wooden door.

'You can't just tell her. She's not ready yet', Ryanna stated. _Ready for what?_ Elena wondered.

'I think she is', Marge defended. 'I believe that this will help her accept her destiny more.'

'You and your destiny', Ryanna sighed. 'It's always about destiny. When are you going to figure out that there is no such thing, Margaret?'

'When you are going to accept that this _is_ destiny. I'm going to tell her right now that I'm related to her.' Marge stepped towards Elena's room, but stopped. Elena could hear that she turned back to Ryanna. 'But I think she has heard everything already.'

The door creaked as Marge opened it and Elena looked right into Marge's eyes. 'What did you just say?' Elena asked, not believing what she just had heard. 'That can't be true. We can't be related to each other.'

'Yet, we are', Marge simply replied. 'I will explain it to you, Elena. But you'll have to sit down properly. Because this is a long story.'

* * *

Three days later October 30 had arrived. Preparations for the House of Evil were almost ready. Some scenarios were being perfected, while others were just inspected for accurateness and timing. A haunted house without good timing was just a bad haunted house. That was what raced through Caroline's mind as she put eerie realistic skulls around the premises of the biggest Halloween event of Whitmore Campus. This was going to be perfect.

'Is everything okay here?' the new police officer said.

Caroline turned around to look Cleo into the eyes. 'Yes, thanks for the help again.'

'No problem', Cleo replied. 'Matt suggested to help. We don't have anything to do back in Mystic Falls so this keeps us busy. My stepfather agreed too.'

'Which is why we're here in the first place', William added. 'Otherwise we wouldn't have been here. Our Sheriff is trying to do a good job. I think your mom would be proud, Caroline.'

Caroline vaguely smiled. She should be used to hearing those comments about her mother. 'Thanks. I think she would be.'

Suddenly, two girls showed up. One of them had brown curly hair and smiled like the devil. The other had straight blonde hair and an angelic face. But she also sported an evil grin. Caroline recognized them immediately: Nora and Mary Louise. The duo was walking through Whitmore's campus on their way to find them apparently. However, Nora looked relieved to be out and about as she sipped on her smoothie and talked to her girlfriend.

'God, it feels good to come out of that deserted town and be around living, breathing humans to eat. Mystic Falls is the prison world all over again', Nora stated.

Mary Louise rolled her eyes, but still smiled at her. 'We're on a mission, Nora. Not a vacation.'

'And what might that mission be?' Caroline asked. 'Stalking a bunch of college kids celebrating Halloween?'

Mary Louise tilted her head in annoyance and gave herself an angry attitude. 'No, we're here to find Oscar. He has sent a text to Lily that he will be here tomorrow. He wanted to experience a real Halloween, apparently. I don't get it though. It seems so dreadful with all those people dressed like sluts and whores.'

'I think it sounds like fun', Nora commented. 'But you can expect us to come tomorrow. We wanted to fill you in on that. And to tell you that whatever you have in mind, it will not work. We're always _really_ prepared.'

The two flashed their devilish grin at them again just as Damon approached them. 'I don't think that a guy who doesn't want to be found will come here, so close to Mystic Falls. Because that's what he's up to, right? He just doesn't want to be found by any of you. Maybe he's enjoying life more than you two are at the moment.' Damon threw this truthful remark right in their faces. It was meant as a hurtful comment, but the couple knew that he was right.

But that didn't mean that they were defeated by the remark. 'Well, this is pointless. Come, Nora', Mary Louise sighed dramatically. She gave Nora a significant look, and she reluctantly followed her girlfriend to leave. As she walked away from them, Nora dropped her nearly-finished smoothie onto the porch and gave Caroline a smug look as the remaining contents were splattered all over the floor.

'Less talking, more helping', Matt added while he brought some black lanterns to the front porch. And they agreed; they started to work once again. Somehow, they wanted to have a good Halloween. Not like the one back in 2009, when Vicki died a horrible death. But a normal Halloween, one like every other college guy or girl would have who didn't experience the pain and disaster like they all had. So working together was imperative to accomplish such event. Not even those Heretics were going to destroy that. Or so they thought.

Later that day, they were all working in groups. Somehow the groups had split up in a suspicious manner. Stefan and Caroline were working on the circus room while Damon, Bonnie and Alaric pitched some help with the living room which would function as the ending scene of the House of Evil. Next to being the ending scene it was also the dance room where people who wanted to stay could dance to some appropriate Halloween music. Working together had really paid off: everything was almost ready. As the new dynamic trio was preparing the sound system for a check-up, Matt, Cleo and William were discussing a pressing matter in the attic.

'So when the Heretics arrive here, we will attack them?' William asked.

'Yes', Matt replied. 'As easy as that. I prepared crossbows with wooden arrows, guns with wooden bullets, vervained water,… Last time we were only attacking them with simple gadgets. But now we are really prepared for what they are. We know what they are capable off.'

Cleo was shuffling uncomfortably. She was not sure about this plan. Namely because her father wasn't a part in this. Someone had to stay behind to protect Mystic Falls, but Matt hadn't even filled him in on his plan. Doubt was holding her together. Yes, she was strong, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be afraid or have doubts about certain things.

Matt knew exactly what she was thinking. 'Look, I know what you are thinking. As much as I recall, vampires have done nothing but ruin my life. Now, a group of them with witch powers has taken over my hometown.' Matt sighed. 'I'm just sick of being pushed around by these abominations of nature. Because that's what they are. Every witch can tell you that. Even the creator of the Originals thought so.' He then remembered what he had said to Elena. 'I even said it to my best friend: I can't say that I hate vampires, then use them to my advantage.'

'Isn't it dangerous to attack them while other people are around?' Cleo suggested.

'I know, but we just need to overdose them with vervain so they are out for at least a couple of hours. If that works, we can really kill them with stakes', William helped Matt. 'I think it's a brilliant plan. That way, we can save our town from the hands of those filthy creatures.'

The two guys waited for Cleo to agree. Matt put his hand reassuringly on Cleo's shoulder. 'If you don't want to do this, then just say so. We won't force you.'

Cleo bit her lip and thought of everything that had happened since the Heretics came into town. Numerous people had died. The last few weeks, only trespassers – mostly homeless people – had been drained of their blood. But that didn't mean that they were going to stop at Mystic Falls alone. Finally, she said: 'I'm in.'

Meanwhile, Damon, Alaric and Bonnie were in the graveyard-turned-garden of the sorority house. Alaric was seated on one of the fake headstones. 'Okay, so… what's the plan? The plan where we try to capture a powerful Heretic who'd prefer we were dead.'

Damon nodded: 'Easy!' He gestured at Bonnie. 'B-Town stuns him with magic, you shoot him with vervain and I', he made a clicking noise with his tongue, 'snap his neck.' He looked at the two people in front of him. 'Any other suggestions?' he asked, but didn't expect one. 'Then let's do this.'

* * *

The next day, the evening has already fallen. The living room was full of men and woman dressed as whatever they wanted. Angels, devils, vampires, witches, zombies,… All different creatures and people were gathered while the beats from Look Who's Killing Now by Wizardz of Oz were going around the room. They were all dancing to it. Drinking heavily was apparently also part of the celebration curriculum. Caroline was standing near the door, dressed as an angel as well with a white dress with feathered trim, sheer white angel wings on her back, and a fluffy halo resting on top of her blonde curls. She noticed Mary Louise and Nora entering the party. They probably went through the haunted house. The control freak that she was wanted to know if they enjoyed it, but she thought about how wrong that must be.

Caroline focused on her vampire hearing, trying to hear what Nora and Mary Louise were talking about and fading out the latest song. The two lovers had just made it to the bar and approached a bartender dressed in a devil costume. He greeted them and asked what the girls wanted to drink. Mary Louise, eager to help her girlfriend get a drink, ordered some strange, unfamiliar drinks. It must have been drinks that existed before she was trapped in the prison world. But times had changed; drinks had changed.

Nora stepped in to help and asked for a gin martini and a "Sex on the Beach", which the bartender did understand. The bartender on duty was William. He made an assessment about their costumes which made Nora smile happily, but Mary just looked offended. Caroline now noticed Andrew walking in, clearly not dressed up for the supposed most scary night of the year. He waved at her, but Caroline only tried to stare him to death. She was going to keep ignoring him. The last thing she saw on his face was disappointment of making up today. Caroline's attention shifted from them to Stefan and Lily. They were confronting each other about something.

'… know it's been hard with…' Valerie said, but part of her phrase got lost by the music. 'She … your first time.'

Caroline was shocked. What did she just say? Stefan's first time? Who was Stefan's first time? Her eyes were going all around the room as she felt dizzy. Suddenly, she felt like she had to throw up. She passed the bar and didn't even notice that William and the two lovebirds were gone. The bartender was replaced by someone else.

At the same time, an Asian male in his late 30's to early 40's, with medium length black hair and brown eyes entered. Damon, who was just waiting for Oscar, the Heretic without a face, was standing across the room outside the door. The Heretic was simply dressed in a pink shirt over a white T-shirt and black jeans. The black haired Salvatore searched for the soulful green eyes that belonged to Bonnie Bennett. She found his first and simply nodded.

The Asian Heretic entered the room, but suddenly turned back to the kitchen, where the murder house set-up was orchestrated. Damon made sure that none of the Heretics had seen him. He went all the way up to the attic, which had been unused for the event. Oscar noticed a rocking chair in a corner and then saw the man sitting in it. It was a tall man, with an athletic build. He had short, brown hair that was gelled on the top and his blue eyes were like blue flames.

'Who are you?' Oscar asked, curious what the man's intentions were.

'I'm Alaric', Alaric responded.

'And we're Bonnie and Clyde', Damon said, creeping up behind Oscar with Bonnie by his side. 'Oh, sorry. Wrong partners in crime. The correction is: Bonnie and Damon.'

'Damon Salvatore?' Oscar said with a sense of recognition, finally turning around to face the other attackers. But he didn't have time to say anything else as Bonnie did a pain infliction spell. Oscar screamed but fought bravely back by using telekinesis on him. But it was already too late: Alaric shot a couple of vervain darts in him while Damon vamp-sped toward him. Damon took his head in his hands and tried to snap his neck. Oscar fought back once again. All of a sudden, Matt appeared at the top of the stairs. The three enemies of Oscar were astonished to see him with all this vampire-killing gear around him. And their surprise came to Oscar's advantage. He threw Damon across the room harshly. Damon felt a sting before he dropped to the floor seemingly unconscious. Alaric aimed his gun at Oscar again, but before anyone else could process what was happening, Oscar threw his hand in front of him and casted a spell. Alaric's gun went flying across the room, and when Oscar clenched his hand into a fist, Bonnie, Matt and Alaric all began gagging violently. He lifted the two remaining male members of his attackers telekinetically and threw them against the walls behind them. Bonnie wanted to withstand Oscar's spell, but eventually also lost consciousness.

Oscar struggled to go downstairs, bumping into numerous random people. A familiar face appeared in his range of vision. Quickly, he siphoned some magic from himself so he could heal. He immediately noticed the black guy in front of him: Beau, who gestured to come with him and sporting a smile, but Oscar noticed something else: a girl with a gun standing behind Beau. He tried to push his fellow Heretic member away in time, but a stake was already flying through the air, directed at Beau's heart. Beau turned around and the stake hit him. But not in the heart. It had pushed through the flesh of the mute Heretic's arm. Oscar made a counter-attack on the girl, apparently a police officer. She screamed and just like that Damon appeared. He was still a bit dazzled, but took Oscar by the arms. Oscar struggled once again and freed himself by pushing Damon against the wall backwards. Damon went down for a few eyeblinking moments and kicked Oscar in the gut. It was Oscar's turn to tumble to the floor. Damon noticed something flying out of the other one's pocket: a pinkish-red, round-cut gemstone that looked quite alluring. Some attraction visitors entered the room and left again, screaming because of the fight.

Meanwhile, Lily noticed the commotion. She used her vampire hearing to get a better notion of her surroundings. As she did that, she discovered Oscar and Beau upstairs, being attacked. She gave her youngest son a mad look: 'What is going on?'

'I have no idea', Stefan admitted, telling the truth and Lily realized that.

Lily quickly ran to where the commotion was coming from, but she stopped dead in her tracks when a door in the hallway opened. It were Nora and Mary Louise; they looked like they were attacked. The couple explained that the bartender had given them drinks filled with vervain and shot a few doses of it in their already weakening bodies.

'I knew that Damon was up to something', Lily announced. 'Thank God I figured out who is responsible for Malcolm's death next to Damon.'

Stefan immediately thought of Bonnie. How did she figure out that she was with Damon the night they both killed Malcolm? He wanted to stop her. But it was too late. Nora and Mary Louise started to attack innocent college kids while making their way to the upstairs hallway. Surprisingly, Lily tried to put a stop to them too.

'Stop attacking people!' Lily demanded. 'We're here to meet Oscar and enjoy a normal modern All Hallows Eve. Is that too much to ask?'

A random college guy entered the small hallway upstairs; he was visibly drunk. He began to encourage the fighting and yelled to go on. He was cornered by Beau who was in a fit of rage. The only dark-skinned member of the Heretics mistakenly identified the guy as his attacker and threw him through the window. Caroline, worried about what was happening, had found her way to the upstairs hallway too. She was shocked to see what was happening and decided to aid her friends. But then her neck got snapped by Oscar. Matt, unbeknownst conscious again, snuck out via the other stairs right beside the stairs that led to the attic. He wanted to kill Lily immediately; she was the leader of the Heretics after all. Maybe killing her would destroy their bond together, even if it was just for a little.

When he went downstairs, he met Nora and Mary Louise. They were busy with compelling people so they would forgot whatever had happened during this horrendous turn of events. William had done a semi-good job with drugging them, but clearly not for long. He aimed his crossbow again, closing one eye in the process. But then Stefan appeared in front of the bow as it went off. Stefan caught the arrow and snapped it in pieces.

'What were you thinking?' Stefan wanted to know. 'Was attacking the Heretics your idea?'

 _INSERT SONG: Shout – Denmark + Winter_

Matt looked directly in Stefan's eyes. He had seen that power in the Salvatore's eyes before; when something went wrong or he wanted to stop something. Like when he had saved Damon from killing Klaus. Stefan vamp-sped outside with Matt. Matt had enough off it. He didn't want to be saved or protected by a vampire anymore. He was sick of being powerless, which was partially why he wanted to join the Mystic Falls police force. But then he observed his surroundings: a few compelled people still had their wounds, shattered glass was laying on the grass, many decorations were destroyed by the attacks and panicking people. A group of that last bunch came through another exit and yelled to heaven and hell. They were approached by Stefan who delicately compelled them one by one. It hit him like a ton of bricks: what had he done? This was not the way it was supposed to happen.

A recovered Damon took place in front of the house too and oversaw the stage for what had been a true night of terror. Matt walked over to him and looked at him. He wanted to apologize to Damon. Evidently, he had conducted a plan to do something with Oscar and his plan had foiled it. And Damon's plan had foiled his in return. So he would apologize, but not grovel.

'I'm sorry', he said.

'You'd better be', Damon replied, finally giving Matt his angry expression. 'Next time, you'd do best by making a plan with me.' Suddenly, a forceful person threw Damon against the ground. He groaned and recognized the one who did it. 'Why did you do that, Mary Louise?'

'Tell me where Oscar is!' Mary Louise demanded. She was accompanied by Lily, Beau, Nora and Valerie. Damon didn't see Enzo anywhere. _Trouble in paradise,_ he thought. But then he focused on the blonde's demand: 'I don't where he is.'

'We can't find him anywhere', Lily stated, her face stood cold.

'And I can't find Caroline.' Stefan came running from the back of the house. 'She's gone!'

All of them stood there, not knowing where to look for their respectively loved ones: Oscar and Caroline. Elsewhere, in an abandoned place, Oscar was healing from his wounds. Yet somehow, he had managed to snap Caroline's neck who was running back to the sorority house as soon as she heard unwanted commotion. But just as she had reached the sorority house again, she met Oscar who snapped her neck with a flick of his wrist. He had seen her listening to Stefan and Lily's conversation and since he knew all of Lily's acquaintances, it had to be one of Stefan Salvatore. His plan was just getting started.

=== The Vampire Diaries ===

 **NEXT TIME: S07E05 – Something to Die For**

SEND ME ON MY WAY – In the aftermath of a crazy attack, Damon asks Bonnie to contact a blast from the past to perform a big spell with her. Stefan tries everything he can to find Caroline who has gone missing. Things spiral out of control when Matt gets a terrifying call. Desperate to find her way back to her friends, Elena does her best to find a way. Finally, a discovery is made that puts someone's life in danger.


	6. Something to Die For

Season 7 Episode 5: Something to Die For

 **For information about which actor/actress plays a character, look for the episode on my MrInigo1995 Fanfiction wikia.**

* * *

 _Previously on 'The Vampire Diaries': Lily faced Valerie about her past with Stefan while Enzo grew concerned about someone from Lily's past. Caroline organized Whitmore's House of Evil while trying to ignore Andrew. But things went awfully wrong as the Mystic Falls Police Department planned an assassination on the Heretics. Meanwhile, Damon, Bonnie and Alaric conspired to capture Oscar to trade him for Elena. During a struggle, Oscar lost a red gemstone. After the attack, Oscar and Caroline had disappeared which left the Heretics enraged. Elena, still being held captive by the Guardians, discovered that Marge is related to her._

 _INSERT SONG: Time After Time – The Wind and The Wave_

Stefan and Bonnie were cleaning up the whole mess that was left after the dreadful night. It had happened so fast, but it had felt like forever since then. Stefan had searched Whitmore campus, but hadn't found a single sign of his… girlfriend? Could he say that Caroline was his girlfriend now? The way he felt about her being missing really hurt him where it should hurt the most. His beating heart had skipped a beat in genuine shock by Caroline's disappearance.

'Are you just going to stand there, or are you actually going to finish this?' Bonnie asked sarcastically.

Stefan's concentration on his feelings broke and he immediately flashed a fake smile at Bonnie. 'Yes, I am.'

Bonnie stopped with putting an unrealistic fluffy pumpkin head away in a box. She looked at the rest of the clean-up committee; they were all busy with their chores that no one was paying attention to them. She decided it was safe to have a decent talk about last night. She motioned with her head to Stefan to go outside with her. Stefan kindly and silently followed by simply nodding to her.

Once they reached the fresh air that still seemed to be filled with the surrounding – yet silencing – smell of blood, they looked again if someone could hear their upcoming delicate conversation. Bonnie took place on a stool on the front porch. Stefan took place on the other side of the white porch against the wall. His mouth was making that usual Stefan-expression: a thin line of serious lips which were not going to reveal anything. Bonnie wanted to change that by starting simple.

'I'm sorry for Caroline being kidnapped… Once again', Bonnie said. She looked down and chuckled. 'You know, she's becoming the Daphne Blake of our group. Getting caught in the crossfire, or just simply being caught. Maybe with her drama class, she will once portray the character in a remake. She isn't going to age anyway.' She looked up again, realizing that this cultural reference-banter wasn't going to help. She should just be straight-to-the-point. 'Look, I'm not apologizing for whatever the plan was. Trying to get Elena back by kidnapping Oscar was our goal. Sadly, we failed. That's what I want to apologize for. Not that we tried to do it.'

Stefan sighed. 'I know _why_ you did it, Bonnie. What I don't like, is that we were left in the dark. Otherwise, we would've helped. Or, at least, trying to find another plan. Because it clearly didn't pan out.' He stood back on his feet instead of balancing against the wall. 'I don't blame any of you. Right now, I just want to find Caroline.'

'I wish I could help, but I can't do a locator spell when I don't have the blood of the target', Bonnie explained. 'And, sadly, someone biologically related to the target isn't an option either.'

Suddenly, the other participants in the clean-up came outside, having boxed-up everything already. Bonnie and Stefan smiled slightly at each other, clearly glad that they didn't have to do that anymore. Yet, they knew that if Caroline was around, they wouldn't have had a chance to talk. Both of them realized that if Caroline had been there, the talk they just had wouldn't have taken place.

Mystic Falls' witch looked at the clock on the inside through the window. Bonnie got up from the stool. Her backside hurt because of the painful wooden stool, but that was overwhelmed by the realization that she was going to be late. 'I'm going to be late for my class. Talk to you later?'

'Sure', Stefan replied. Just like that, the heart-felt conversation between the two friends had ended, leaving Stefan behind with an inner struggle of how to find his girlfriend and Bonnie determined to figure out a way too.

Suddenly, a young man stood in front of Stefan. His short blonde hair was illuminated by the sunlight. The green eyes were reflecting it too, which made it seem like he was a dangerous creature. Nevertheless, Stefan recognized him anyway as the guy that Caroline went on a date with: Andrew.

'What do you want?' Stefan asked.

'I want to help', Andrew said.

* * *

'I thought you wanted me to sit down?' Elena stated, quite harshly.

Marge nodded. 'Yes, I did say that. And you still are. Actually, you're laying down. This is a complicated mind spell, Elena. I brought you here because I wanted you to see something.' Marge waved her arms around the place.

Elena looked around too. She recognized this place even in her sleep. The coldness oozing from the stones already made her uncomfortable. The green curtain and religious paintings were meant to keep you silent. The five stairs that led to the altar had seemed so high when she was little. But that had already changed when she had attended her parents' funeral back in 2009. That giant leap for Elena Gilbert at the age of four had changed into five tiny steps for Elena Gilbert at the age of sixteen, almost seventeen. These white walls were frightening her even now. The last time she had been in Mystic Falls' church, she and her friends had buried the town council after Pastor Young blew them all up. But let's not forget that that had been under the influence off Atticus Shane.

'This is all in my memory, Elena. It's the same as your friends did when they placed you in that coffin.'

Elena's head immediately turned to Marge instead of looking around. 'How are you doing this? Is there a witch or vampire involved?'

Marge smiled. 'There is definitely some magic involved, Elena. I just love saying your name. Anyway, I brought you here to let you see something.'

Suddenly, they were standing at the door that led to the choir loft, and both of them slipped up the stairs. Marge was being noiselessly about it. When both of them reached the top, they looked down from the gallery. It seemed as if everyone in Mystic Falls was here, every seat in every pew filled, and the back of the church packed solid with people standing. Staring at the front rows, Elena realized that she recognized every face. Elena was surprised to see herself sitting there, crying her eyes out. She was surrounded by friends and family. Jeremy was sitting beside her and aunt Jenna had taken place on the other side. Seeing Jenna again made Elena's heart quiver with an intense feeling of heartache. She had missed Jenna. The pain of seeing her aunt staked by Klaus often jumped up in her nightmares and real-life. Elena figured out almost immediately where she was.

'Why are you letting me see my parents' funeral again?' Elena asked, but it wasn't really a question. Nevertheless, her voice croaked with a well of sadness. 'Are you telling me that my parents are your parents too?' Elena knew that they were only her adoptive parents, but she had always seen Miranda Sommers-Gilbert and Grayson Gilbert as her real parents. Not the atrocities that Isobel Flemming and John Gilbert had turned out to be.

'I'm telling you just that, Elena. Because if you haven't noticed, there's someone standing right behind you', Marge explained.

Elena dared to take a look at who was standing there. It was a younger version of Marge. She was maybe seventeen or eighteen years old. Like the Elena downstairs, her eyes had been pools of tears, letting them stream down like a waterfall on her cheeks. Elena looked back at Marge standing beside her, noticing that she was staring with big, sorrow-filled eyes at the younger version of herself.

'…share our remembrances of this very special couple.' Elena heard the voice of the Pastor in the background, but started to focus on what Marge began to say.

'Meet Margaret Gilbert. I was watching what happened after with the unearthly feeling that I had a loge seat at a play. I was not at all involved in the events down there on stage; only a spectator. But it were my parents too.' A single tear rolled down her right cheek and she quickly wiped it away, leaving no trace of the moist trail it had left behind. 'Even though they gave me up, I would have never forgiven myself if I hadn't been there that day.'

'Wait… they gave you up?' Elena asked, shocked by Marge's reveal.

'Yes, they did. I don't really blame them', Marge stated. 'But it still hurts like hell. Like they didn't even want to try to raise me. After they had given me up, they almost immediately adopted you. That hurt, Elena. But I don't have a grudge against you, let me make that clear. I don't have a grudge against our parents either.'

Elena's eyes drifted towards the floor. 'No.' She was confused. Everything had been a lie. She thought back at the moment she discovered that she was adopted. She had felt so miserable after uncovering that secret. It wasn't until later that she learned that it didn't matter: Jeremy and Jenna had reassured her that she was definitely family. Not only because she was Jeremy's niece all of a sudden. Mainly because they shared a bond together. 'No!' she yelled, clearly louder. She stumped on the ground with one of her feet and a jolt emotionally electrocuted her.

Suddenly, Elena awoke in the cabin again. Marge was sitting on a chair beside her. Elena's head spun around; the whole room was like an amusement park ride. The sound of a door being rapidly opened and closed was caught by her ears, but she didn't really register it. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her. After all, Marge had been doing that for the past months so it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

* * *

Alaric was standing in front of his Occult Studies class at Whitmore and beginning his lecture for the day. Every desk in the room had someone seated in it, including Bonnie, who seemed both amused and depressed by Alaric's choice of lecture topics for the day.

'I want to talk about death', Alaric started. 'More specifically, I want to talk about what happens after.' He took a look around at the over-full classroom and chuckled. 'Now, I'm not going to pretend like my good looks are the reason this class is so full.' This made the students laugh, even Bonnie let a smile escape her lips. 'I've heard the same stories you have about Mystic Falls, especially the last weeks. Ghost sightings, poltergeists…'

'Zombies!' a male student called out to him. Again, laughter filled the room. This time Alaric did too.

'Now, let's talk about it. What's behind all of these stories? Now, almost every culture has the lore of a creature or being that cheats death. Why do our brains insist on inventing the most unbelievable things?' Alaric asked. Bonnie, seated in the middle of the room, seemed slightly worried about Alaric as he continued his lecture. 'It's because the reality of death is actually the most unbelievable thing of all. Now, the most terrifying thing that you're going to encounter in Mystic Falls is a trespassing ticket, okay? So, everyone just _stay out_.'

After class had been dismissed, Bonnie walked up to the front of the lecture hall to talk to Alaric. 'So, had any sleep last night?'

Alaric chuckled. 'After being beaten by just one Heretic, without even gaining something from it, the chances were highly unlikely.' He was packing up his stuff, but suddenly stopped. 'The Heretics have killed many people already since their return, did you know that? Even last night people died. It seems whatever we try to do, nothing can stop them.' He had whispered the last part, the whisper sounded truthful and not to be negotiated about.

Bonnie looked at him with concern. 'Are you okay?' Alaric sighed and Bonnie hesitated awkwardly before continuing: '…Damon told me what you were doing in Europe.' She stopped for just an eye blinking moment. 'Not that it came as a surprise.'

Alaric looked up and sheepishly replied: 'Drinking myself to boredom and helping Damon kill vampires?'

'Yeah', Bonnie smiled weakly.

'Don't worry, I'm over it', Alaric stated.

'It's okay if you're not, Ric', Bonnie sympathetically shared. 'Heck, I'm a _little_ offended you didn't come to me first! Because Damon _is_ Damon after all.'

Alaric's sarcasm simmered in. 'What, you wouldn't think it's weird that I'm trying to avenge my fiancée and children's death?' Yet, the supposed dry sarcasm was not dry at all. It felt like the ground at dawn: earth moisturized with tears from the sky. Only this time, the sarcasm-ground was drenched in Alaric's tears of sorrow by the loss of his soon-to-be wife and unborn children.

Bonnie caught on this and shrugged. 'Honestly, after everything we've experienced? It'd be weird if you _weren't_.' She smiled at him and went to leave, but suddenly a dressed-in-grey figure appeared in front of her. Bonnie looked up. There were those clear blue eyes and that shaggy brownish black hair.

'If you don't have a request for Judge Witchy, I will take your slot then', Damon said.

* * *

Caroline awakened in an unknown location to find that she was in a wooden chair, where Oscar, wearing thick gloves, was binding her wrists and ankles to the arms and legs of the chair with vervain-soaked ropes. She appeared to be in a basement somewhere. She heard a song playing on the radio upstairs, recognizing it as "Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men.

Oscar noticed her awakening. 'Oh, so Snow White finally decided to wake up to see the poisoned apple?' Oscar laughed. 'Well, not an apple. Ropes. Vervain-soaked ropes. Which is basically the same as poison for vampires, isn't it?' He grabbed another soaked rope from the bucket and wrapped it around her wrists. 'Have…'

Caroline groaned, disturbing Oscar's concentration. 'What the hell...', she needed some air, '…is wrong with you?'

'Someone took the Phoenix Stone. And I needed to retaliate', Oscar answered. But he quickly wandered back to his original thoughts: 'Have you noticed that Mystic Falls is becoming the real-life manifestation of the Enchanted Forest? You being Snow White, that precious friend of yours – Elena was her name, right? – in her Sleeping Beauty-coma,… It seems that Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz blew into town.'

Caroline, who was so sick of being kidnapped and tortured, was getting frustrated. 'Are you really comparing our lives to " _Once Upon a Time_ "? Because if you're going to do this right, then you are probably Rumpelstiltskin. And the rest of your Heretic friends are the rest of the Dark Ones.'

This silenced Oscar for a few seconds. 'Huh', he murmured. 'I never thought I'd see the day that I became the villain of the story.' His brown eyes suddenly darkened. 'I guess I'd better get started on tackling that role.' He took another rope. 'Hush now, deep breath.' He finished tying her up, and she hissed as it burned her skin. 'There you are.'

He turned to leave, and Caroline, panting for breath, called out after him. 'God! This hurts really, really bad.' Caroline's eyes were full of tears, and she bit her lower lip from pain, even drawing some blood from it.

Despite his actions, Oscar was always the rather good-hearted one of the Heretics. He felt bad about this and he turned back toward her. 'Look, it's only until the Phoenix Stone is returned to me so I can fulfill my duty to Lily.' A sigh escaped his lips and he stared into the distance. 'Then I can finally be left alone and do what I want.' He looked at Caroline's face: the blonde curls that was messed up and blue-green marbles that were shedding bitter tears.

Oscar knelt down again and loosened the ropes that connected her wrists and kept them bound to the arms. Caroline's panting stopped, and she started to scowl at him, causing Oscar to realize she tricked him, though not quickly enough to stop her. She broke out of her restraints and used the vervain rope against Oscar; she put in his mouth so he couldn't utter a spell. She did this before head-butting him so hard he fell onto the floor. Once he was down, she quickly flipped backward, breaking the wooden chair into pieces. With the speed of a vampire, she hopped to her feet, grabbing one of the broken chair legs to use as a makeshift stake.

'Now… deep breath!' Caroline mocked. In that fast moment, she had to decide if she would kill him or just wound him. After all, it had been the other Heretics who had killed people. She did not know anything about him. Maybe he was a good Heretic. But she couldn't believe she was thinking that and decided to stake him right there, right then. But Oscar had already figured out her plan and moved to the side. The stake landed in his thigh instead of his heart. Caroline vamp-sped upstairs. The song playing on the radio was now "The Cedar Room" by Doves. She recognized this house from somewhere. _Miss Gibbons house_ , she thought. _The house where Stefan was held captive by the tomb vampires back in high school._

She thought she had reached freedom when she saw the front door. But Oscar's tongue had already healed from the vervain and his body from the stake-wound. He had come upstairs, mouthing an unintelligible spell and flicked his wrist, which magically caused Caroline to be knocked unconscious and fall onto the floor. The Asian Heretic smirked in a weird mixture of physical pain and satisfaction.

* * *

Matt and William were walking around Mystic Falls, trying to take their minds off of everything that had happened last night. Matt wanted to forget the mistake he made. Yet, he didn't acknowledge that not warning his vampire friends was a mistake. The mistake was that he let the Heretics slip away. But he also didn't want other people hurt. He should've thought it all through. It was too late now. It had happened; there was no going back in time. _Not unless there's another prison world_ , Matt thought.

'I'll go look inside the Mystic Grill to check', William suggested. 'You can do the place next to it.' Without waiting for an answer, William stepped inside the Grill. Matt made his way to house next-door. He entered the unlocked house, and aimed his gun just in case a Heretic, or someone else just as diabolical, was there.

Suddenly, Matt's phone was buzzing. He reached for it, and saw Cleo's name. He wondered why she would call him, given the fact that he had just seen her a few minutes ago. He answered it with a simple: 'Hello.'

'Hello', a man's voice replied.

Matt was stunned. Maybe someone was trying to put a prank on him. 'William, is that you?' Matt asked, thinking of how much fun William had been during locker room conversations and football practice.

'No', the man said.

'Who are you, then?'

'If you tell me your name, I'll tell you mine.' The man sounded scarily calm. Like he was closing in on his prey.

Matt recognized this conversation from somewhere. It was almost straight out of that slasher film – what was it called again? Scream! 'Are you seriously making fun of me by acting like the murderer from " _Scream_ "?'

'Oh, you're familiar with it', the voice said. 'That saves me an explanation. Let me _cut_ to the chase then. Although in my time, the earlier version was frequently used: cut to Hecuba. You attacked me last night, together with your police friends.'

 _One of the Heretics_ , Matt thought, alarmed and ready to take one on.

'I was having trouble deciding who I should kidnap next. You see, I already have Caroline, so it was difficult to pick the next target.'

' _What_ did you do with Cleo?' Matt demanded, catching on pretty quick that Cleo had fallen victim to Oscar's kidnapping.

'Not much, just took her out of the playing field for a while', Oscar answered. 'And I'm not going to do anything, as long as I get my stone back. My _precious_ , if I may say so.'

'I don't have your stone', Matt declared, telling the truth.

'Then ask around who does, Matt. Or your lovely friends _will_ get be on the cutting room floor, if you catch my drift.' And with those words, Oscar hung up. Matt looked at his phone, enraged by the recent turn of events and that he had to ask help from the people he didn't want to ask it from.

* * *

'So this is what I found after the attack last night', Damon stated. 'And I have a feeling that Oscar will want this back, since this is probably what Lily wants.' He held the stone in his hands and turned it around again, like he had so many times already. 'But I have no idea what it is. Or maybe even what it does.' He looked directly at Bonnie. 'Which is why I need your help.'

Bonnie, Damon and Alaric were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace in Bonnie's dorm room, surrounded by lit white candles. Alaric was looking through different books, until he saw an image similar to the stone in Damon's hands in one of them.

He looked from the page to the two pair of eyes directed at him as he sat upright. 'An old contact of mine at Duke once told me about this stone. It's called the Phoenix Stone. It's supposed to have… resuscitative powers.'

Bonnie was stunned. 'Resuscitative as in it can bring somebody back from the dead?'

'Yes', Alaric stated. 'It's supposed to be in the maritime museum of New York. Which is probably why Oscar traveled there.' His eyes grew wide. They were speaking the language of hope, something that he thought he had lost months ago.

Damon gently set the stone in Bonnie's open hands, and she stared at it for a moment as she concentrated on it. 'It's certainly _pretty_. I don't feel any magic emanating from it, though.'

'Well, that's helpful', Damon remarked. He caught Alaric's gaze at the stone. 'You are not going to steal it, are you, Ric? So, put those stealing looks away.'

Bonnie closed her eyes and started to quietly whisper a spell under her breath. This concerned Alaric. And Damon to a certain extant too. 'What are you doing?' Alaric asked confused.

Bonnie stopped the spell and replied: 'Sometimes witches will conceal a powerful talisman or relic by hiding the magic inside of it. Maybe now I can sense something.' She continued trying to sense the stone's power, and after moment, the fire in the fireplace expanded in a huge plume of flames, startling Alaric. Damon, however, was left unfazed. Suddenly, Bonnie gasped in fear as she was overcome by visions. These visions had people covered in blood and screaming in agony. Bonnie became so afraid that she snapped out of her vision and dropped the stone onto the floor, scooting away from it with tears in her eyes. She had recognized these visions: it were the same ones as she had during the summer.

'Bonnie, are you okay?' Alaric was worried.

'Bonnie, what happened?' Damon wanted to know, also worried about Bonnie. But he wouldn't admit that out loud at that moment.

'I don't know', Bonnie answered shakily. 'I saw those visions again. People dying. There's something _wrong_ with that stone, Damon. Something _evil_.'

'If it has the power to bring people back from the dead, maybe we can use it.' Alaric murmured.

Damon turned his head towards his friend. 'Your wife has been dead and buried for over four months now. I don't think that bringing her back now is a good idea. No harsh feelings, though.' He turned his head towards the stone again. 'But I wonder if we can use it one day.'

Bonnie began to inhale air normally again, and she gave the male duo a deadly serious look. 'We can't mess with that magic. No one can. We have to _destroy_ it.' This made the men sigh and frown unhappily.

'Actually, I need it for one important, unmagical thing, Bon-Bon', Damon said.

'And what might that be?' Bonnie asked, rolling her eyes to Damon having one of his ideas.

'Well, Oscar took Caroline and I'm going to get her back and capture Oscar at the same time.' He stared at Bonnie for a moment and added: 'I also don't want you to do the _very_ _thing_ that you're about to do.'

'It's all because we attacked Oscar, and because we killed Malcolm.' Bonnie looked guilty. 'This is all my fault.'

But Damon wouldn't have any of that. Bonnie was already enough guilt-ridden as it is with being Elena's slumbering link. 'Listen to me – killing Malcolm was classic-Damon and has _nothing_ to do with you. Everybody knows that. What happened last night also happened because of me. I had the idea to attack Oscar.'

'But I helped you kill him, Damon', Bonnie bounced back. 'I took part in his passing.'

'Look, you can blame yourself all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that…' Damon stopped speaking and focused his hearing. After that, he started to smile. 'She's here.'

'Who's here?' Alaric and Bonnie asked. Just then, the door flew open by magical means. A beautiful woman with almond brown eyes, cocoa brown skin and long dark hair stepped inside the dorm room.

'Lucy?' Bonnie was shocked and surprised to see that familiar face again. The only time she had seen that face, was at the Masquerade Ball back in 2010. The night Katherine almost obtained the moonstone. Lucy had been an accomplice of Katherine, linking Elena to Katherine. That was why they couldn't kill Katherine that night. But Lucy had helped them eventually, lifting the curse and fooling Katherine herself. She had made Katherine promise as soon as she gave the moonstone to her, her debt was paid. Katherine had agreed, but when she had touched the moonstone, she collapsed and looked like she was suffocating. Lucy had found out Katherine was playing her against a fellow Bennett witch. Together, they had put a spell on the moonstone that would incapacitate Katherine.

'That's me', Lucy said.

Damon, who had been looking at his phone, stepped in: 'Sorry to cut this short, but apparently Matt Donovan is worried about this Cleo-girl who also has been captured by Oscar now. So I think we better get started.'

'Get started with what?' Bonnie asked.

'You two are Bennett witches', Damon started to explain. 'So if you combine your power to do some sort of psychometry spell to discover Oscar's whereabouts, it will definitely work. You two up for that?'

Bonnie and Lucy looked at one another and turned back to Damon. Both of them nodded and Damon flashed his well-known smile at them. 'Well, what are you waiting for?'

* * *

Stefan was sitting on a bench outside the hospital, which is right where the bench was where he met Valerie in 1863. There was a sign on the ground that read "Former Site: Mystic Falls Fairgrounds". He briefly thought back of when he had waited for her to arrive after she had sent a letter to him, explaining to him that she would return. After a moment, Valerie appeared and sat next to him, though Stefan didn't even register her appearance.

'In the prison world', Valerie began quietly, 'before we desiccated, I came here every day to think. I can see that sometimes you still do, as well. That's a comfort.' She hesitated for a moment. 'It was also comforting to hear from you. It's strange to be here with you… finally able to tell you the truth.' She dug right into her history after she left Mystic Falls, about being pregnant of Stefan's child and being kicked by the gruesome Julian. 'Julian solved his dilemma by beating me senseless, 'til I was nearly dead, and the other heartbeat inside me stopped. When I regained consciousness, I was on the ship to England. Lily said Julian had found me robbed and beaten on the street.' She flinched for a moment.

Stefan, meanwhile, was taking back by Valerie's revelation of being pregnant with a child of his. He just couldn't believe this. In fact, he thought it was a lie.

'She believed him, of course, and she healed me with her blood. Julian knew I could never tell Lily what he had done, because that also would have exposed my lies about my time with you', Valerie continued. 'She never would have forgiven me for having an affair with her son.' She sighed heavily. 'I didn't want to live under Julian's thumb, so that night, as we crossed the Atlantic, I drew myself a bath, laced my tea with laudanum, and went quietly to sleep. But, I died with Lily's blood in my system… And, by virtue of complete happenstance, I became the first Heretic.' She turned her head toward Stefan, trying to face him, but he just stared at the horizon. 'You don't know how sorry I am… about _everything_.'

A gust of wind blew, and Stefan looked to his left, but nothing and no one is there. Valerie had been concealed by a cloaking spell this entire time, and Stefan hadn't actually heard anything what she was telling him. After a moment, Stefan was approached by Andrew again.

'I just got a call from Damon', Andrew said. 'They're ready.'

Stefan stood up and walked away, together with Andrew, leaving an invisible Valerie to sit on the bench alone. 'Maybe you never will', she said sadly.

* * *

Miss Gibbon's house had not been visited for a very long time. Probably because she was dead. But her family had never gotten the chance to sell it properly. It had just stayed empty for all those years. When Bonnie and Lucy had explained what they had seen, Damon had figured out almost immediately that it was that house.

Bonnie was ready to exercise her magic, and Alaric had his gear ready to utilize it if it was necessary. Andrew was present too, trying to make up for infiltrating into their group the way he had. Matt and William had joined them after hearing the plan from Andrew over the phone. Of course, the Salvatore brothers were there too. Stefan listened carefully and explained to them that he heard breathing downstairs.

Damon looked around to see if everyone was ready. And he knew they were. He smiled and whispered: 'Showtime.' He quickly ran up to the front door and kicked it in with all the strength he could muster. 'Honey, we're home.'

Oscar had already heard them coming. He was standing in the hallway, his hands tightly around Cleo's neck. 'Give me the Phoenix Stone, _honey_ , or I'll snap her neck.'

'That's not really what you want to do, Oscar', Stefan said. 'We'll give you the damn stone if you free your hostages right now.'

'Not going to happen unless you give the stone.' Oscar was already getting tired of it, and the confrontation had just begun. 'Look, we're not going to bitch at each other like this, are we? We're vampires, for God's sake. We can do this like civilized people…', he stopped for a split second, '…or do this.' He flicked his wrist and the Salvatore brothers were thrown outside. Suddenly, he felt pain in his back. Vervain! Someone had shot a vervain dart at him. Another one, and another one. He dropped Cleo on the floor so he could turn around to face William and Matt. He wanted to attack them, but developed an idea in the process. He gave Cleo a magical knock on the head. He could easily use his magic instead of making it more difficult for himself. Just as he was about to chant, he felt his throat going dry and he couldn't utter a single letter.

Bonnie came from around the corner and chanted a spell on her own, making Oscar's vocal abilities go numb. This angered him and he was reminded that he didn't always need his mouth to do a spell. Quickly, he waved his hands and threw Bonnie and William against a wall. _Where did that other guy go?_ Oscar thought.

Matt had disappeared during the magical fight and had made his way to Cleo, who had been knocked unconscious by Oscar's magic. He carried her outside and laid her into Alaric's van. Meanwhile, he saw Stefan and Damon going inside. He looked at Cleo's closed eyes and spoke to her: 'You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. I'm going to take care of that.'

 _INSERT SONG: All Of Me – Angus and Julia Stone_

Caroline was still hanging by her wrists in one of the upstairs bedrooms, fading in and out of consciousness, when she hears footsteps approaching. After a moment, Stefan walked in the door, and she looked both relieved and confused by the sight of him. He had just dodged Oscar who was still roaming around on the ground floor and took the backdoor to enter the basement.

'Stefan?' she said weakly. 'Is it you, or am I hallucinating?'

Stefan looked at her with concern as he examined her restrains. 'What'd he do to you?'

'You mean before or after the gallon of vervain he injected me with?'

'I'm going to get you out of here. Just hang on', Stefan said, to the rescue again.

'Already doing that', Caroline sarcastically, yet weakly said.

Stefan broke the chains binding her wrists, but she was so weak from the vervain that she crumpled onto the floor and groaned. Stefan kneeled beside her to check. 'Looks like I'm gonna have to scoop you up and carry you out of here.'

Caroline chuckled softly. 'Well, the feminist in me says no, but…' Suddenly, she remembered something. Something gravely important. 'Who's Valerie Tulle?' she asked. Stefan stopped and looked right into her eyes. 'I heard you and Lily talking about her last night, and now Oscar was talking about her. She was your first time, Stefan. How come you never told me about her?'

Stefan looked down and began to speak, not trying to avoid this confrontation. 'I never told you about her, because she was forgotten. It didn't really think about her anymore. She had promised me in a letter that she would return, but she didn't. I waited and waited for her. With every passing footstep, I turned around, expecting to see her. I sat around all day like an idiot – past sundown, after nightfall – but she never showed up. Eventually, I accepted that I had been abandoned all over again, and then I walked home. That was that. I thought about her for a while after that, but when Katherine entered my life, everything else faded away.' He took Caroline's head in his hands. 'Look, I was just a kid when I met her. Just a troubled boy mourning his dead mother. I was young and human.'

'I was young and human when you and I met, and I remember the _exact_ moment when I met you.' Caroline wondered about something similar too. 'Do you remember the first time that you ever saw me?' Stefan looked slightly guilty and Caroline immediately regretted her words. 'I'm sorry. That was totally unfair. Just… _please_ forget I asked. I mean, you were even sitting next to Elena, so of _course_ you only had eyes for her.'

Stefan interrupted. 'Things have changed. Different circumstances, different results.'

'Here's a different circumstance: Valerie's out of the prison world', Caroline added. 'Does that change things for you?'

'Of course not', Stefan answered without hesitation.

'You don't wonder what would have happened if Valerie would have shown up to meet you?' Caroline wanted this out in the open, even if the answer terrified her.

'I don't wonder anymore. I don't care about the past. All I care about is that you're here, and you're safe. You're with me.'

Caroline seemed very touched by Stefan's response, and she reached over to rub his arm affectionately. Stefan just smiled warmly at her and chuckled, causing Caroline to smile back. 'I know', she said. Both of them stared romantically into each other's eyes.

Meanwhile, Bonnie tried to fight Oscar the best way she could. She set his arm on fire and he yelled like hell was brought down on him. He immediately thought off a counter spell. He wanted to snap her little Bennett neck. After all, the Bennett witches had aided the Gemini Coven with the creation of the prison worlds so it would only be fair. Just then, Lucy entered the building, mumbling some kind of spell. The words "phesmatos pyrox morsinus illum" were repeated by her and made Oscar's nose bleed. If she was going to keep this up, she would kill him.

'Vatos!' he yelled, making the objects around Lucy explode subsequently. She sought cover and quickly ran outside.

A nervous-looking Oscar was on his way to the door when Damon appeared behind him, not really noticing the oldest Salvatore brother. 'I remember you. I was fighting for the South. It's not exactly a time I like to reminisce about in front of my friends.' Damon's eyes were shooting daggers at the Heretic.

Oscar turned to face him, but looked slightly relieved by the words Damon had spoken. 'Yeah, you had the same opinion back then. Hated everything your side believed in. Hey, you wanted to desert, but feared shaming your old man.'

Damon was suspicious of Oscar. All because of what he had done to Damon during the war. 'You compelled me to take sick leave. The next day, my entire regiment was slaughtered in Gettysburg. You saved my life.'

Oscar wildly shook his head. 'I couldn't compel you back then. All I did was talk to you, from one human to another. I told you to follow your heart. Now, it's my turn to desert. I don't want to be a part of Lily's cavalry, okay? I-I don't want rules, or-or a chain of command. At the risk of sounding like Cyndi Lauper, I just want to have fun.' Oscar laughed, and then walked towards Damon. 'You know what? A little extra piece of advice: a lot of people want the Phoenix Stone. Mess with it, and you end up dead!'

Damon smirked. 'Full disclosure: I don't care about the stone.'

This confused Oscar. 'Then why are you chasing me, man?'

'Let's just say I'd like to cash you in for something way better', Damon replied, thinking of Elena, still in that casket and still missing.

Damon vamp-sped to the wall, pulled of a wooden railing and stabbed Oscar in the stomach with it before punching him hard in the face two times and kicking him so hard he flipped in the air and fell onto his back. Oscar groaned in pain and supported the stake in his stomach with one hand while he thrusted the other toward Damon. Yet, he could still chant a spell: 'Aerodux motus!' Damon flew up into the air and he bounces off the ceiling and landed on his knees on the floor. Oscar then vamp-sped toward Damon and held him high in the air in a choke hold with one hand, using the other to stake him in the stomach in return. Before Oscar could push the stake into his heart, Bonnie appeared behind him.

'Phesmatos mosinus pyros allum. Phesmatos mosinus pyros allum', she chanted. It was a pain infliction spell that caused Oscar to fall to his knees in agony. Oscar continued to yell in pain until Alaric walked into the hallway and shot him in the back with three vervain darts. He shot another three into his leg. This knocked Oscar out pretty quickly.

While Damon recovered from being staked in the stomach, Bonnie walked over to where Oscar dropped the Phoenix Stone during the chaos and picked it up before reluctantly handing it over to Alaric. 'Do what you want with it', she said. 'But I'll stand by and help you, in case something goes _terribly_ wrong, understood?'

Alaric turned the stone in his hands over and over again before he finally said: 'I do want to try, but I think that for now it's safer in Damon's hands.' Bonnie nodded in agreement and smiled. The three of them all looked relieved to have their new bargaining chip. The others waited for them outside as they brought Oscar's body to the van. He saw Andrew bringing Bonnie something to drink. The Plan had worked.

* * *

'Elena, are you okay?' Marge asked.

'Yes, I'm fine', Elena said, already standing up from the bed. 'Look, I'm tired of doing this. Let me go! If you really are my family, than you let me go.'

Margaret sighed. 'As much as I want to, there's one thing you need to do first. Otherwise, you won't wake up. Remember?'

Elena thought of that for a while. She had been linked to Bonnie by Kai. As long as Bonnie was alive, she would remain asleep. Therefore… 'This is all happening in my head, isn't it? This is just some mind spell too!'

'Sort of', her adoptive sister explained. 'It is actually an astral projection spell. Because your mind is fine. It is your body that is asleep, Elena. The only way I could contact you is through this spell. So, basically, your astral projection self is actually here with us. Your corporeal form of the astral you is here. The mind is a powerful thing. You need to complete the ritual before you can go away from here.'

'What ritual?' Elena asked. 'You already had me tested multiple times. To see if I'm worthy enough, probably.'

'I already knew that you were worthy. You're my sister, after all. But I had to prove it to the others.'

Elena looked right in those eyes, thinking about those others. 'How many others are there?' she asked, curious about how this whole Guardian-thing worked.

'There are a few, not many, if that's what you think. There are much more other vampires, werewolves, and witches then there are Guardians.'

 _Other vampires_ , Elena thought. _So a vampire can become a Guardian too_. This astonished her. She had thought that they were all witches, even though Margaret had already declared her wrong on that. 'Fine, I'll do it. As long as I can go home after.'

'Of course', Marge said, but it was clear to Elena that she was hiding something. Clearly, they weren't going to let her go that easily. But still, she agreed to the ritual. 'Something else must take place first. You're still bound to Bonnie Bennett.'

Elena quickly snapped back. 'You're _not_ going to kill Bonnie. If you do that, the Heretics are the least of your worries, understood?'

Margaret sighed. 'We surely did start off on the wrong foot, didn't we? Maybe if I had waited to tell you all this…' Her eyes drifted towards the floor, staring at nothing in particular. She regretted everything she had said. What if this was not the right thing to do? She snapped out of it and continued: 'I won't kill Bonnie Bennett, Elena. She's one of your best friends. I could never hurt you like that.' She stopped again, thinking of what she was going to say next. 'One day. Maybe not now, but one day you'll understand that I'm doing this to help you. Because Idola is going to severe the link between you and Bonnie Bennett.'

'Who is Idola? Seriously, where do all these people come from?' Elena was getting more frustrated by the second. She wanted to trust her newly-discovered niece/adoptive sister, but she didn't really have anything to sustain that trust. The only thing that Marge had done, was kidnap her through an astral projection spell, test her attitude and drop a huge bomb of information on her. 'And how are you going to do that?'

'I'm not going to do that, and neither is Idola', Marge explained. 'But she will help you. To severe the link between Bonnie and you, we must cut through Kai's spell in a mental plane of existence.'

'But first, the ritual', a woman behind Elena said. Elena turned around and saw briefly the copper-colored hair of a thirty-something year old woman. She had pale skin, but a sweet smile. Elena had not noticed her standing there. 'It will take place outside. I'll go ahead.' Idola left them behind and exited through the door.

Marge watched her as she left. She turned to Elena. 'I'll go too.' She hesitated and finally took a hold of Elena's hands who was staring at her, not knowing what to expect. 'You'll see your friends again, Elena. All the people you love will be there.' On that note, she stepped outside of the room.

These words fueled Elena's curiousness, but mainly her desire to see all of her friends' faces again. Caroline and Stefan could be together already in the meantime. She wondered what Damon had been up to. Bonnie had probably been on a very much deserved holiday. Hopefully, Alaric was on his feet again. And if not, she would help him get there. For the first time in a very long one, she was excited again. She made a decision right then: she was going to do whatever it would take to see her friends again. But she wasn't naïve either, so she figured out something else before she went outside. Yes, that had worked before, so it would work again now probably.

 _INSERT SONG: Victory Dance – My Morning Jacket_

Elena was looking at a bonfire when she breathed in the fresh nightly air. Idola was holding a book in her hands and Margaret was standing right beside her. The latter one motioned for Elena to stand across off them on the other side of the fire. Elena got up and slowly walked to the place that Margaret wanted her to stand. Idola began chanting, holding a tiny bottle of blood in her hands.

'Fire, Earth, Metal, Air, Water and Blood. By these elements, we bind thee to our shared destiny. Follow in the steps of thou fellow Guardians, who pledged themselves to fight against the forces of darkness. When evil assails us, when fear weakens us, when descent threatens us, in our Guardianship we will find our power. You come to this place alone, but you leave as one of us.' Idola opened the bottle and threw the blood into the fire. Somehow, the flames burst higher than Elena had ever seen a bonfire do. She was pleasantly surprised and shocked in the same time. 'With this oath, thou journey with us begins. Does thee accept your destiny?' Idola finished.

Elena wanted to say no, but maybe she would never escape this place if she said that.

'Yes', Elena said. She waited for something to happen, but nothing did. They all just stood there. 'That's it?' She couldn't believe this. 'No fire rising? No painful transition? Nothing?'

'I wouldn't say nothing', Idola added.

'What then?'

'Let me show you', Idola said. She laid her hands against Elena's temples.

A white light engulfed Elena completely. She looked around at what was happening. The white walls were lifted and nature revealed itself. She was standing in a field of green grass. She suddenly felt something in her hand too. When she looked down at her right hand, she saw another one in it. It was attached to a young woman standing beside her, smiling. The woman was Bonnie. 'Bonnie?!' Elena shrieked, beginning to bawl her eyes out. She hadn't seen Bonnie in such a long, long time that it was making her cry to see those friendly eyes again.

'Where are we?' Bonnie asked.

'You're with me. That's all that matters right now', Elena replied. She wanted to hug her friend, but was stopped by a familiar voice in front of them.

'I'd hate to interrupt this beautifully sickening moment.' It was Kai. His blue-grey eyes were staring at the duo.

'Kai?!' Bonnie said. 'But you're dead?'

'He's a fake', Elena figured out. 'He's here to severe the bond between us, the link that connects to each other.'

Bonnie looked at her: 'The slumbering spell that he placed on you.'

'Exactly. We can't do it ourselves. He made it clear that if one of us tries to do something with the spell, we both die.'

Bonnie turned back to face Malachai Parker. 'Then let's do this.' She raised her hand, which caused the same high-pitched noise Kai magically caused at Alaric and Jo's wedding. Just like she had done when she had fought against him in the aftermath. Kai started clutching his head in pain. Elena looked around to see if she could utilize something to harm him. Because if she could do something to help, she would. She quickly took a hold of his hands and held them against his back.

'Knock him unconscious, Bonnie', Elena suggested.

'No, wait, I feel something', Bonnie said. She looked at the grass underneath her and she felt something pulling, something changing. There was a change in the atmosphere, but also with her and Elena. 'Us fighting against Kai changed something. I just don't know what.'

Suddenly, the white light was rising again. 'Wait! Bonnie!' Elena shouted at her friend, trying to take hold of her hand again. Bonnie reached for it and could take a slight of the familiar hand before being pulled away into the whiteness. 'Bonnie!' Elena yelled again.

Slowly, it faded away just as quick as it had appeared. Elena felt dizzy and sleepy. She began to see bits and pieces of Marge, Idola and the bonfire. When she finally felt fully awake again, she asked: 'Was any of that dream world real? Is Kai alive again?'

'No, Elena', Marge began. 'He isn't. He was just a manifestation created from your mind and Bonnie's mind. He couldn't do any harm, but it needed to be real to severe the link between your friend. The emotional trigger of working together made the spell…uhm… confused in a way. Because that shouldn't have happened. Plus, while Kai was only a manifestation, it was also a manifestation of the spell. You two held it down, together. The spell has been altered.'

'But if we messed with the spell, we both would die. And I'd rather die alone than sacrifice Bonnie with me', Elena said.

'That's why we changed it. Not you two. You were encouraged to fight the spell so Idola could fight it too. We were able to slightly alter it with a special kind of root, which is Idola's specialty: herbs and roots. Now, you are still linked, but it's not a sleeping spell anymore. In fact, if one of you dies, the other dies too. Do you understand? So we need to keep you safe for a while, for your own and Bonnie's protection.'

Elena understood it, she understood it all perfectly. 'So you lied to me again?'

'What?' Margaret was taken aback by that reaction. 'No…'

Elena caught her off. 'Yes, you did. You have lied to me ever since I got here through whatever means you thought were good to see me. Now that I have met and seen you, I don't want to see you anymore. You've manipulated me the entire time: letting me doing weird tests, risking my friend's life for a hunch… It's over.'

Elena stumped onto the ground again as quickly as she could. She used all the force she could gather. She heard Margaret screaming no in the distance but she already felt like her astral projection spell was wearing off. Elena had to believe her mind was strong enough to counter this spell. And suddenly, the world faded to black. The same way it had faded at the wedding ceremony; like a blast, making her close her eyes, making her lose consciousness. The blackness engulfed her and took her back to where she belonged: Mystic Falls.

* * *

The next day, Lily was sitting up in Damon's old bedroom at the Salvatore Boarding House. Just then, Damon called from an abandoned room currently under construction at Whitmore Medical Center, where he had Oscar neutralized with two separate IV drips that were attached to two glass bottles full off vervain flowers and water.

Lily was annoyed as she answered the call. 'Damon', she simply said.

'You should have come yourself', Damon said.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'It's been a long day. I have little energy for your riddles.'

'Gettysburg, 1863. If that had been you, it would have changed the entire course of my life', Damon explained, stating the obvious factor in his life.

'I was supposed to be dead', Lily defended.

'And _I_ was supposed to be your son', Damon shot back, getting angrier.

But something dawned on Lillian's mind. 'How do you know this?'

'Your prodigal Heretic was _Fear and Loathing_ just a couple of miles away.'

'Oscar…', Lillian was shocked.

'Don't worry, Mommy. He's in the middle of a vervain detox. Give me Elena. Maybe I won't kill him', Damon threatened.

Lily, furious, stood to her feet. 'You will _not_ lay a hand on another member of my family.'

Damon sighed in return. 'You know, this whole "family" thing really irked me at first, but now, I get it. You loved me, time passed, and you moved on to another family.' He looked at the two people sitting in front of him: Bonnie and Alaric. They were discussing Bonnie's dream from last night. She had dreamed off Elena being in a white area where they encountered Kai. The three of them were in Alaric's room at Whitmore College, enjoying their small victory. He even heard her say to Alaric that it had seemed so real, but sadly it wasn't: Elena was still asleep. 'So did I. Why don't we end this mutual disdain once and for all? Give me Elena, you get your son back.' Damon hung up his phone, and Lily got a murderous look on her face upon the realization that Oscar was in Damon's hands.

That afternoon, Lily and Damon were standing at the middle of the cemetery. Oscar was laying in the back of a van near Damon. The van was protected by Alaric and Bonnie, who didn't trust the Heretics for one bit. The Heretics didn't trust them in return: Nora and Mary Louise were behind Lillian, glaring at the three friends.

'I've asked Beau to remove the cloaking spell from Elena's coffin', Lily said. 'You will find her in the ruins of the Salvatore mansion.'

Damon rolled his eyes in disbelief of not being able to figure that out. 'Clever… ish.'

'I do think so', Lily replied smugly, letting Damon know that she outsmarted him.

Damon paused before he spoke up. He knew what he had to do. He knew what he had to do and wanted to say: 'I'm moving back to Mystic Falls.'

Lily looked momentarily surprised by his request, but she did her best to appear casual about it. Yet, a dose of surprise was still hearable in her voice when she said: 'I will certainly ask the family to take it under consideration.'

This annoyed Damon to the fullest. 'It wasn't a request. Those people at the Halloween party didn't deserve to be killed by your free-range children; Stefan's up to his hero-hair in Heretic drama; and I worry that Matt Donovan's funeral is gonna cut into my social schedule.'

'And _what_? You're gonna help keep order?' Lily bounced back skeptically. 'Damon, you could hardly keep a coffin safe. You _do_ realize that this innate desire to keep Elena physically present in your life, this boyish refusal to let her go, will only put her in more danger? After everything you've been through, what a shame it would be to lose her because you're too terrified to find out who you actually are without her.'

Damon scowled at his mother, not at all thrilled about what she had just said. After a moment, Lily turned to leave, ordering Nora and Mary Louise to take the van, but gave Damon one last parting statement before she went. 'If you dare to return to Mystic Falls, it's no skin off my nose.' And with that, she turned around to leave her eldest child behind. This was the end of the conversation. Or, at least, she thought it was.

'I want one more thing', Damon stated.

* * *

Oscar, looking pale, awakened in a bed in a strangely familiar face. He began to breathe quickly at first as he tried to figure out where he was. It was the Salvatore Boarding House. He was pleasantly surprised to find Valerie standing next to his bed, fiddling with the necklace she was wearing.

'You're awake', Valerie said, smiling. She had heard that Oscar had come home about one hour ago. She had waited for the other Heretics to leave the house as they went on a search for food.

'Awake and… coming down hard', Oscar groaned. 'Where the hell am I?'

'Our new home', she answered. 'The Salvatore Boarding House.'

'I know, but why am I here?'

Valerie took in a deep breath. 'Because Damon wanted to trade you for his precious Elena Gilbert.'

'Did Lily send you here in my room then?' Oscar asked worriedly. Valerie shook her head and explained that Lily had no idea that she was there. 'Maybe I can turn this thing around before she comes here.' A sigh escaped his lips.

Valerie nodded nervously and tried to casually change the subject. 'So, have you done your duty to the family and found Julian yet?'

'Can you keep a secret?'

'You have no idea', Valerie smiled.

'I found him months ago', Oscar said, surprising Valerie. She asked why he didn't tell Lily. 'I didn't tell _anyone_. I wanted to… live a little before I came back. And now that I'm back, I just don't know, Val. I haven't exactly thought it through from my hostage situation and now my bed, here.' He chuckled nervously.

Valerie smiled. 'I know you, Oscar. Eventually, you'll leverage Julian's location for your freedom from Lily.'

Oscar's eyes grew wide. 'Yeah, that's a… That's a pretty good idea, actually. I'll probably do that.' He chuckled weakly, and though Valerie's face was tense with fear, she smiled fakely at him to conceal her true feelings as she gently brushed his hair off of his forehead.

'Hmmm. You have a sweet soul, Oscar', she said anxiously. 'And you've been good to me, like a brother.' Suddenly, she plunged her free hand into Oscar's chest, causing him to start coughing and choking in pain. He spluttered blood from his mouth as tears filled Valerie's eyes. 'But Julian is the _devil'_ , Valerie was shaking, 'I _can't_ let Lily bring him back.' Before Oscar can process this, she ripped his heart out of his chest, and he gagged one last time as his skin turned gray and desiccated. He fell back against his pillows, his mouth still open in shock. The only undead soul in the room was now Valerie Tulle, standing over his body, still shaking from what she had just done.

* * *

 _INSERT SONG: Malmö I Mitt Hjärta – Sarah MacDougall_

Moments earlier, at the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon was seen walking down into the wine cellar in the basement. He took an old bottle of wine out of a drawer. He wanted to drink something while writing something down. He made his way to the old Salvatore Estate - which took for about a half hour - where he took a seat on one of the broken-down walls in the ruins. It was there where he started to write in a journal: _Dear Elena… Yes, you heard that correctly; hell has frozen over. I'm writing it all down. Granted, I'm a half-bottle in, thanks to my 1950 Chateau Cheval Blanc, a bottle I waited 65 years to open. I used to spend nights sitting in the old wine cellar, convincing myself I could actually hear it age: tannins growing, fermenting. But, appreciating its beauty didn't make the time go by any faster. The bottle just laid there on its shelf, torturing me while I waited for Katherine and time stood still._

Damon picked up his wine glass and spun the contents in his hand for a moment before sniffing it and taking a large, satisfying sip. Beside him was Elena. Well, Elena's coffin, actually, which had been pulled out of its hiding place. He put his glass down and continued to write: _Eventually, I convinced myself that no sip of that wine could ever taste as good as I dreamt it would, so I hid the bottle and walked away. And_ that _is the story of why I drink bourbon._ He leant forward and smiled weakly as he rubbed the top of Elena's coffin with his hand. It felt like he was caressing Elena's soul for a moment, but he just stopped there. _I don't know who I am without you. But I_ do _know that as long as I'm without you, time will stand still._

Suddenly, an SUV pulled up in front of Damon. He looked up to see who was behind the wheel, but he already knew. He had called him for a favor. A huge favor, Damon might add, but he would never admit that out loud. Damon saw the tanned face with short black hair and dark brown eyes. The recently-triggered werewolf came out of the car and greeted the vampire. Together they loaded Elena's coffin into Tyler's SUV.

During this, Tyler thought about his last time with Elena. It had been in her mind, but it was so vivid to him. They had been standing in a cellar. Tyler had asked where they were. ' _Not here, not in Mystic Falls_ ', Elena had answered. She had started to wrap a chain around his wrist, as though he was preparing for a full moon. ' _You need to get out of here, Tyler. You need to figure out what it is you want to do, who you want to be, and then just really fight for it. You're gonna be fine, Tyler. You're a wolf now, embrace it. Don't fight it. Let it be that thing that makes you extraordinary_.'

And that was exactly what Tyler had been up to. Making his life extraordinary. Together with Jeremy he had been hunting vampires for a while. But he had eventually decided to leave that alone. He had decided to actually live a life. Up until now, he had not been successful at anything. Now, he wanted to do something right by Elena: he was going to keep her coffin, and Elena herself of course, safe. Without needing any words to be said, Tyler got back into the car and drove away, leaving a saddened Damon behind.

The black-haired vampire took place again and continued his writing: _So, who is Damon Salvatore without Elena Gilbert? A selfish friend? A jealous brother? A horrible son? Or maybe, with a little luck, I'll do right by you. Because you may be one thousand miles away, or one hundred years away, but you're still with me, and my heart is right there in that coffin with you_ , Damon stopped for a moment, _until you come back to me._

Damon decided to finalize his entry with that. He closed the diary and made his way to midtown Mystic Falls. He vamp-sped to Mystic Falls' very own tower. He made his way to the top of it and took a seat, fumbling with the Phoenix Stone in his fingers. Elena had sat there with him, discussing if she would take the Cure or not. Eventually, she had taken it that same night. The night she was almost killed by his mother. Just thinking of that was making him more mad. Lily had really stepped over some boundaries in the last months, beginning with her explanation of why she had come back to the United States back in 1903. Not because of her sons, but because of revenge planned out by the Heretics. He was so lost in his thoughts, that he hadn't heard someone coming up behind him.

 _INSERT SONG: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Marilyn Manson_

The stone was suddenly taken from Damon's hands. Damon, as quick as a vampire could, stood up and flashed a dangerously daggering look at the person who took it. His opponent was handsome and tall, with brown eyes and black hair, distributing a smile that seemed to be hiding something.

'What are you doing here, Sheriff?' Damon asked, looking at the shortsword with an X-shaped blade in Ethan's hands.

'You know, Damon, I never would've gotten this stone without you', Ethan stated. 'Because there is one more thing that you didn't know about the Phoenix Stone.' Damon felt like a fight was at hand, so he steadied himself for what was to come. 'When you place the stone at the hilt of the sword, you can suck someone's soul in this stone. That's why Bonnie had those visions, probably.' Ethan started to sport an even bigger, devilish smile than Damon. 'How do I know this, you ask? Matt is very helpful with such things, especially when he feels like he can trust someone. Little tip; he doesn't trust you.'

'What are you planning to do, phony Sheriff?' Damon asked, prepared to attack Ethan. But he had to bear in mind what this blade could do.

'I'm going to help this town become something special', Ethan explained. 'And you're going to have to be out of the way.'

Ethan shot a couple of vervain darts toward Damon. The vampire quickly dodged them all, but it made him lose balance. The safest plan was to jump down. That's what Damon did, just like he had done with Elena. The air blew through his hair and his eyes were fixed on the concrete underneath him. He almost reached it. Finally, he landed with his two feet on the ground. He immediately crossed the street. But he heard something. He turned around as fast as he could with his vampire speed, and tried to catch the stake in mid-air. But he felt the wood burn through his stomach. Another one was fired and landed in his thigh. This slowed him down instantly; the pain was too hard, certainly with visions of a smiling Elena making it hard to hold on. Ethan had made his way downstairs now too, and he jumped up in front of Damon.

'Now you and Elena will sort-of sleep together', Ethan said menacingly, 'but not together-together.' This angered Damon. It fueled his desire to stay alive and protect Elena, his brother Stefan, and his friends at any cost. He pushed Ethan away, onto the street. He vamp-sped toward Ethan and tried to snap his neck. But he inhaled deeply. He was shocked as he dared to take a look down his body. Ethan had stabbed him in the heart with the Phoenix Sword, which started to glow from within as Damon's soul was getting trapped inside. Damon fell onto the floor, staying perfectly still. The eerie silence covered the entire town as Ethan got onto his feet again. He smiled down at the body in front of his feet. The Sheriff walked away, leaving the body behind. But he still held the Phoenix Sword in his hands.

===The Vampire Diaries===

 **NEXT TIME: S07E06 – The One That Got Away**

ELENA'S RETURN – While everyone mourns Damons demise, a chain of events is set up that will lead to a revelation. Elsewhere, at Caroline's urging, Stefan comes face-to-face with Valerie and learns some upsetting details about her past. Elena reveals something life-changing that will leave her friends startled. Meanwhile, Bonnie decides to help Enzo with the search for a certain object as Lily prepares for the arrival of a special figure of her past.


End file.
